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Google said Sprint switched on its integration of Google Voice, which will allow Sprint customers to use their existing Sprint number as their Google Voice number to ring any phones when people call their mobile phone.
Users may also choose to replace their existing Sprint number with their mobile Google Voice number. This means all calls and texts sent from a user’s Sprint smartphone will display their Google Voice number to recipients of calls and messages. Google offers complete details of the steps on this Web page.
Sprint phone users will also enjoy the VOIP service’s feature for checking messages by phone, email or on the Web, and create personalized voicemail greetings, block unwanted callers and make cheap international calls.
Sprint’s embrace of Google Voice came one day after AT&T’s bid to purchase T-Mobile for $39 billion in cash and stock. The move could sway some of the 2 million or so Google Voice users who were weighing several Android smartphones to go with Sprint.
Whether users opt to keep their existing Sprint number or replace it with their Google Voice number, Google Voice will replace Sprint voicemail. Also, all international calls made from the Sprint phone will always be connected by Google Voice.
Sprint’s integration with Google Voice will also come preinstalled on the Samsung Nexus S 4G smartphone launching May 8 with Google’s Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” operating system.
This is part of the “pure Google experience” Sprint touts as an advantage of picking a Nexus S 4G, which means customers will receive Android software upgrades and new Google mobile apps before owners of other Android smartphones.
Google Voice on Sprint smartphones is available only to Sprint customers in the United States, as the VOIP service is only available in the U.S. and Canada to date.