A Google Voice UK service is definitely on the way. Google head honcho, Eric Schmidt, has confirmed that the web phone service is headed to Britain and the mysterious Facebook-fighting social network Google Me got a mention too. Read on for a brief glimpse of the Google-tinged future to come…
At the Guardian Activate conference, after praising the “extraordinary growth” of the iPad, claiming that Google Wave is still relevant and talking about Google’s little trouble in big China town, Schmidt revealed that Google Voice UK is in the works.
Google Voice lets you use one number across multiple landlines and mobiles. It also packs in clever features like transcribing voicemails and offering up customised messages for particular callers.
While Apple has not approved the Google Voice iPhone app, Google swerved that issue by creating a Google Voice web app using HTML5. But unveiling Google Voice UK will still need the right infrastructure in place.
Schmidt didn’t go into details about how long we’ll have to wait for Google Voice to hit Britain but the fact that’s he’s talking publicly about it hopefully means we’ve not got long to wait.
Asked about whether the Google Me rumours are true, Schmidt was coy, saying: “That would be a product announcement and I won’t say.” After his non-denial, the interviewer, Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger concluded: “That sounds like a yes.” We think so too.
Let us know: are you gagging to get your hands on Google Voice? And if you’ve used Google Voice in the US, hit the comments to give us the benefit of your wisdom.
