i.Tech Offers SolarVoice 908 Bluetooth Headset

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i.Tech has announced a new solar powered Bluetooth headset called the SolarVoice 908. The headset can recharge its batteries using the power of the Sun. the headset also features background noise reduction for clear calls and an advanced suite of digital signal processing software to reduce background noise and distortion.

The headset also supports A2DP Bluetooth profile for streaming multimedia audio. The headset can also be used to hear audio from multimedia content like YouTube and more. The earbuds are designed to allow air into the ear canal to prevent that stopped up feeling users get from some headsets. Read more

Posted on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Google Voice: Now With Your Existing Cell Number

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Say you love the idea of Google Voice and all of the cool features it represents, but you just can't stand the thought of memorizing ANOTHER phone number. Or your cell phone is a work issued phone and you have to stick with that number for business purposes. In the past, if that was your situation you were just SOL. But today, thanks to the wonderful folks at Google, that's no longer an issue.

Users can now get Google Voice with a Google issued number, or with an old, pre-existing number. If you choose to use your old number some features will be missing from voice, like call screening and recording, but most of Voice's features will remain intact. That includes Google voicemail, quite possibly the best thing about voice as a whole.

Posted on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:09:41 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Voice Messages Searchable...By Anyone?

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We have some potentially terrible news for Google Voice users. A reader of Boy Genius has stumbled onto what could be a major security hole in the popular service. If you enter "site:https://www.google.com/voice/fm/*" and do a Google search, a list of voice mail messages pops up.

These messages appear to be real messages, from random people. They include audio files and transcripts. The caller's name and phone number is also listed. Some of the messages sound almost like they could be promotional recordings (the first two are people talking about ways to use Google Voice) but many of them seem to just be random messages from people.

Posted on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:55:37 CDT | by Robert Evans

BlackBerry Bold Gets Visual Voicemail Early?

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Visual Voicemail is not an iPhone only feature, because a company called Klausner has the patents on it and licenses it to Apple and others. Which is a good thing as Visual Voicemail is a great feature and I would not want to be without it again.
BoyGeniusReport reports that AT&T will update the BlackBerry Bold on Tuesday to enable Visual Voicemail on this BlackBerry smartphone. The report also says that one would be able to get AT&T to enable the feature before Tuesday. Read more

Posted on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:03:19 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Google Voice: Free Calls to Canada

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Google Voice is pretty much the darling wunderkind of the tech world these days. It's an incredibly useful, well planned and run resource that allows users an unprecedented degree of freedom in handling calls and dealing with messages. Voice gives users cheap long distance calling, free text messaging and, now, free calls to Canada.

Posted on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:30:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google To Make Browser-Based Voice App

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Google has decided that they aren't going to take the App Store's refusal of Google Voice lying down. According to the New York Times (via AppleInsider) Google is working on a browser-based Voice app built specifically with the iPhone in mind. As a Google spokesperson told AppleInsider last week.

"Apple did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple App Store. We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users, for example by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers."

Posted on Fri, 7 Aug 2009 12:20:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Is Apple Building A Google Voice Clone?

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On the outside, Apple's decision to reject Google Voice seems rather nonsensical. It provoked the FCC's ire, angered thousands of customers, and made Apple look just as stodgy and backwards as AT&T. It doesn't make any sense...unless Apple wants Voice out of the way so they won't have competition when they release a similar app.

Andrew Garcia at eWeek.com certainly thinks so. And he's put together a compelling argument to try and prove it. He points out that Voice was rejected by Apple under the “conflicts with existing services” justification. While there are currently no services in the App Store similar to Voice, that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Posted on Tue, 4 Aug 2009 11:35:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

FCC Investigates Apple Nixing Google Voice

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Another page has been written in the epic saga of Google Voice and its iPhone troubles. Now the FCC is investigating Apple for cutting the app, as well as several 3rd party Voice apps, from its online store. The Federal Communications Commission sent letters to Apple, AT&T, and Google looking for information on the whole conflict.

Specifically the FCC wanted to know exactly why Apple rejected the app and removed the related applications. They also wanted to know what, if any role, AT&T had on the decision. Apple, whose App Store policies have been wondered at but never formally questioned, was asked to give an accounting of exactly what the approval process involves. The FCC asked for the percentage of rejected apps, and the major reasons that an app gets nixed.

Posted on Sat, 1 Aug 2009 14:05:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Take Back The Beep: Stop Voicemail Gouging.

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I'm going to admit something that my family and friends have suspected for some time; I never check my voice mail. Not once in over a year now have I called in to listen to my messages or clear out my inbox. Whenever someone leaves me a message, I just call them back. I don't do this out of laziness, I do it because I can't stand to deal with the infuriating pre-recorded voicemail statement T-Mobile makes me wait through before I can check my messages.

Unless you're the kind of bizarre Luddite who doesn't own a mobile phone, you've had to deal with the aggravation of pre-recorded voicemail directions as well. You probably won't be surprised to hear that these pointless, slow-as-molasses readings are just a ploy by cell phone carriers to extend call times and widen their profit margins. What might surprise you is just how much money they're making off of it.

Posted on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:05:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Apple Kills Google Voice For iPhone.

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It's a sad day to be an Apple fan. News has just come out that Apple is pulling all Google Voice applications from its app store. Google Voice is no longer a possibility on the iPhone, a fact which is going to make quite a few people angry. Google Voice is easily the single most promising application that's come out for mobile phones in years. It allows you to consolidate all of your numbers under one master number, as well as giving you what amounts to free texting capabilities.

Google Voice has been a resounding success so far, and Google still hasn't been able to sort through all of the invitations. Unfortunately, phone carriers aren't very happy with Voice. It cuts them out of a lot of money, and makes it much less of a hassle for users to switch carriers. Changing your phone number is a huge hassle, but with Google Voice you have the same number wherever you go.

Read more

Posted on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:45:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Voice: Not For iPhones

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Bad news, iPhone owners. Google Voice may not be coming to you after all. AppleInsider's just reported that Google is currently working with Apple to try and get a Google Voice app working for the iPhone. Unfortunately, AT&T could stop that from ever becoming a reality.

Among other things, Google Voice allows users to send text messages for free using their Google number. That's an amazing deal for Voice users, but it cuts a huge swath of profit out of AT&T's business model. Text messages are the bread and butter of mobile carriers, they involve virtually no expense and bring in big, greasy bundles of money.

Posted on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:20:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Voice For Android/BlackBerry Out.

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Google Voice is the new free service from Google that ties all of your mobile, home phone, and Skype numbers together under one customized number. It's in the beta stage right now, and Google still hasn't finished working their way through the massive backlog of invitations. That hasn't stopped them from working on ways to expand the service, though. Today, BlackBerry and Android fans are going to get the first Google Voice app.

This news comes as no surprise. Giving Google Voice a smartphone presence is an understandable priority for Google. Voice is a service that won't really see the apex of its potential until it is totally mobile. The use of voice is that, by linking all of your numbers together, it makes your life way more portable. Now you can answer office calls, and personal calls, all on the same phone.

Posted on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:45:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Has Your Voice: Should You Worry?

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Back when Google launched their Chrome web browser they took a lot of fire for putting a program that records what people type in the Omnibox address bar. Some people have wondered if Chrome OS will contain a similar program, maybe even one that monitors everything you type, online and off. In fact, in general people are starting to worry more and more about Google. And that's a good thing.

As far as corporations go, Google is one of the most loveable ones out there. They're staffed and run by hip young geniuses who have fashionable offices and a really cool corporate culture. They release applications and innovations that make all of our lives that much simpler, and most of the time they do it for free. What's not to love about Google?

Posted on Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:55:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Voice Lets You Change Your Number...Again

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Today the folks behind Google Voice took a short break from answering invite requests and added a new feature to their service. If, for whatever reason, you decide you really don't like your Google Voice number, you can now change it. It'll cost you ten bucks, but that's really pretty fair when you consider what it's letting you do (and the hassle that switching numbers represents for Google).

Google Voice is a brand-new service that lets you consolidate all of your mobile, home, office, and Skype numbers together under one customized number. Google even has a number picking tool that lets you type out words to see if the number spelling them is available in your area. It's a very convenient little service that is getting a lot of attention.

Posted on Fri, 3 Jul 2009 10:35:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Voice: Now For Small Businesses

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Invites have only been out for a few short days, and already Google Voice has an add-on. Google Voice is a service that consolidates all of your phone numbers (including Skype) together under one number. It's free (you'll have to wait a long while for invites though) and you can even pick vanity numbers.

That's an especially attractive proposition for small businesses, as it would allow them to have a custom number for their company that links multiple cell, in-office, or sky numbers together. Unfortunately, Google Voice currently lacks any ability to allow you to differentiate between which number which call goes to. This would be a major limiting factor for the service, if the good people at On-State hadn't stepped in.

Posted on Wed, 1 Jul 2009 17:30:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Voice Translation Software for iPhone/BlackBerry

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Everyone who has ever traveled overseas wants a Babelfish. The ability to instantly translate your words and the words of others in a way that both parties can understand would be the greatest breakthrough in communications technology since the birth of the Internet. Unfortunately, we're probably still years away from that breakthrough. But Sakhr technologies, a contractor for the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, has made big progress towards that goal.

They've just come out with an app for the BlackBerry and iPhone smartphones that can translate English into Arabic and pronounce the translation correctly to avoid confusion. Unfortunately this app is NOT, I repeat NOT publically available at this moment. It was built for military purposes, and it'll probably be a good long while before we see it available for civilian use. That said, military innovations (like the Internet) always end up filtering down to the civilian market eventually. It might be a few years, but eventually we'll see the Sakhr app available for mass market use.

Posted on Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:15:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Long Wait for Google Voice Invites

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Did you apply for a Google Voice invite yesterday, as soon as you heard the news? If so, you could be in for one heck of a long wait. Even if you applied way earlier than yesterday it could still take weeks, if not months, for your invitation to come. Recent reports suggest that Google has an enormous backlog of invitation requests to work through.

A tweet from the Google Voice head Greg Walker carried with it the good news that Google is continuing to send out invites, and the bad news that there are a LOT of invites to hand out.

Posted on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:25:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Voice Invites Are Out!

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It's finally happened; Google Voice invitations are going out! Until recently the service has been in testing, and only available to users in GrandCentral. Now they're opening things up, and if you requested an invitation to Voice earlier your invite could find its way to your inbox at any moment.

When you get the invite all you'll need to do is click the link and follow the instructions to get your account set up. Google Voice will link all of your phones together under one number, which Google claims will make voicemail as easy as email to manage. One of the first things you'll need to do to set up your account is pick the Google number that will tie all of your phones together.

Posted on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:55:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Grabs 1 Million Phone Numbers for Voice

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We've known for a while that Google Voice was the next step on Google's road to world domination. Over the last few weeks we've been tantalized with rumours of just when the new service would be available to the public. Today Gizmodo has given us some great news that could signal an imminent release.

The news was that Google has just reserved one million new phone numbers through Level 3, the service provider for Voice. The fact that Google has already taken the step to reserve so many numbers is a pretty clear sign that we're at least near launch. Some rumors even claim that Voice could launch as early as today, although personally I think we're in for another couple of days of waiting.

Posted on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 11:44:06 CDT | by Robert Evans

VoiceSafe for iPhone Opens with Users Voice

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Voicetrust has announced a new security application for the iPhone called VoiceTrust. The software allows the owner of the iPhone to log in and retrieve personal secrets using their voice alone. The company says that a free version of the software will be available in the next month.

Voicesafe stores PIN numbers, credit card numbers, debit card numbers, passwords, and other personal information directly on the iPhone. When setup the software has the user say a sentence that will be used for their password. Read more

Posted on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

iPhone OS 3.0 Gets Jibbler Voice Recognition

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Ars Technica is reporting that sources have found voice control features buried in the new iPhone 3.0 OS, including voice synthesis and speech recognition. Codenamed 'Jibbler,' Ars reports that the new features work off of the SpringBoard application, which is essentially the iPhone’s answer to the Mac OS “Finder.”

What does this mean for users? Most likely, users may be able to launch and close programs via voice command, and of course, voice dialing. There is also the intriguing prospect of voice transcribing for emails and text messages. Not exactly groundbreaking technology, but fun none the less.

Posted on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:35:00 CDT | by James Douglas