Google Voice arrives on iPhone and Palm WebOS devices

(AFP PHOTO / Frederic J. BROWN)

Google has released a new, HTML5 version of their Google Voice web application making it much easier for iPhone and Palm WebOS devices to make calls and receive voice mails from their Google Voice numbers.

The Google Voice update was announced on January 26. It brings Google one step closer to giving iPhone users the native Google Voice experience they have been demanding since Apple rejected (or as Apple would like to have you believe "has yet to approve") the native Google Voice app from their App store.

"Today, we're excited to introduce the Google Voice web app for the iPhone and Palm WebOS devices," wrote Google on their Mobile blog.

"This HTML5 application provides you with a fast and versatile mobile experience for Google Voice because it uses the latest advancements in web technologies. For example, AppCache lets you interact with web apps without a network connection and local databases allow you to store data locally on the device, so you don't lose data even when you close the browser."

iPhone and Palm users can head to m.google.com/voice to log into their Google Voice account. Users will then be able to make calls, read text-based transcripts of voice messages left on their voicemail and can send and receive text messages free of charge.

Calls and texts sent using the web application will appear on the recipient's phone showing the caller ID as the user's Google Voice number.

The application will work with all versions of Palm WebOS and iPhone OS 3.0 and higher.

http://m.google.com/voice