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Now Make Phone Calls from Gmail

Looks like the recent video/voice chat plugin for linux is a stratergically set as a prerequisite for this big update! Now Gmail chat will have a new option to call real phones. This sounds like a HUGE competition brewing in sip world. Skype, especially, must be very worried, given the large base of gmail users. It also lacks a web client making it easier for roaming users to prefer gmail than their (might I dare say) own phone. This option requires you to have Google Voice associated with the gmail account. If you have not checked out Google Voice, its well worth the shot. Here is the preview of what it would look like

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