Back to Google. The new voice search option is currently being rolled out to google.com visitors who open the search engine’s website in the Chrome browser.

A small microphone is displayed next to the search form if voice search is available. Users need to click on the microphone icon before they can use their voice to search Google. The only requirement is a connected microphone and the Google Chrome browser.

Take a look at the following video that introduces the new feature.

The feature is rolling out, and it may take weeks before all Google visitors get to see the microphone on the main Google page.

Probably the biggest usability issue is that you have to click the microphone before you can start speaking and searching. This slows down search noticeable, especially when compared to searching with the keyboard. It is also necessary to click again whenever you want to search anew.

We have not been able to test the feature yet, but have a few concerns. It is likely that text in the search form gets erased whenever the microphone is used to submit a new search to Google. It is also unlikely that there is an option to correct words with your voice, which means that it may be necessary to use the mouse and keyboard to do that.

It will also be interesting if the speech recognition algorithm will be able to identify English words from users from all over the world correctly. While that’s probably difficulty enough for the different English accents, it is without doubt even more difficulty when foreign users use the feature.

Google Voice for Google Chrome is an extension that allows access to several Google Voice features directly in the web browser.

The Google Voice extension for instance displays the number of unread messages on the Google Voice inbox, play audio alerts when new messages arrive (with the option to turn that feature off) and offers quick access to recent messages with transcripts and voicemail playbacks.

The extension furthermore allows the user to send free text messages and to initiate calls right from the extension menu by typing a number or contact name. Phone numbers on websites are made callable via Google Voice by clicking on them with the fallback option to highlight the phone number to use the click to call popup to call the number instead.

Google Voice for Google Chrome can be downloaded from the Google Chrome Extension gallery. Several of the features that might get annoying after some time, like the audio notifications of new messages or the automatic modification of phone numbers to links can be turned off in the extension’s options.

Google’s recent acquisition of the voice over IP company Gizmo5 has sparked speculation that Google would integrate that technology into their Google Voice services. (on a sidenote: Lifehacker has already posted a method to combine both services back in August)

The confirmation that they indeed will add voip to Google Voice came today in the form of a news article over at eWeek.

Voicemail transcription, inbox integration and threaded SMS are fantastic features, but we’re really just scratching the surface. Gizmo5 gives us talent and talent technology. They have specific tech and skills in further integrating telephony with devices and desktop and Web-based computing. We want to make sure you’re communication is available to you irrespective of where you are at, what device you have in your pocket, etc.”

What could this mean for the end user? Most likely a reduced phone bill as calls could then be made from mobile devices that are connected to a wireless network.

One Number is an interesting extension for the Google Chrome browser that acts as a notifier for the four Google services Gmail, Google Reader, Google Wave and Google Voice. It places a single icon in the web browser’s toolbar that displays the number of unread messages as one number.

The main benefit of this approach is that it saves up space in the Chrome toolbar if several Google services are used regularly (the extreme would be a reduction to one icon from four).

All four Google services are monitored by default. The options can be used to disable checks for specific services.

The first step after installation is to log into a Google account by left-clicking the icon in the toolbar and selecting the Log In link there.

The login redirects to the Google account login on the Google website.

The same menu contains a link to the options which can be used to disable and customize specific services (changing the color code or excluding their unread count from appearing in the number that is displayed in the toolbar) as well as server query intervals, timeouts and misc toolbar colors to indicate if multiple services have unread messages.

One Number is a Google service monitor that can be helpful for Googleholics who use at least two of the services that are currently supported by the Chrome extension (it’s also good for monitoring only one service but that would defeat much of its purpose).

The extension is compatible with Google Chrome 4 and can be downloaded from the official Google Chrome extensions website.

According to the report published by Arrington, Google has been in the process of making a smartphone that follows the company’s directions to the T. That basically means they have a handset manufacturer who is working with them and following their specifications. In fact, the latest buzzword there is probably ‘Google Says’. So what does Google say?

That is something we don’t know yet but we do know that this new phone is not going to compromise on anything at all. It is being made to deliver what Google thinks a modern smartphone should be like. So this is not just a Google Experience phone but the true Android vision that Google has. It is meant to show their customers exactly what Google means by a smartphone.

But therein lies a problem. Google is not supposed to make an Android phone. They have too many partner companies who are making their own Android phones. Google’s handset would compete with theirs and that is not how you maintain a healthy relationship. So how do you maintain it and still get what you want?

Arrington has an idea. He suggests that the device will not be a true phone but merely a VoIP device. That way, it will get to have everything awesome that Android has to offer and yet will not compete with the offerings from their partner companies. If they are really making such device, why not just make a tablet? I am sure they see the vast potential in that. What is the use of giving someone a phone shaped MID that has VoIP instead of GSM or CDMA?

May be this is Google’s idea of the future – everything based on the Internet. It does tie in with what Google has to say about practically everything that involves technology and communication of some sort – move it online! Case in point – the Google Chrome OS. It takes your standard Linux OS and turns it into a mere client for all sorts of cloud services. As a result, you get to forget about backing up, maintaining, cleaning and generally thinking about how to get it to work and stay working.

However, the viability of such device depends greatly on one thing. This is that one thing that Google cannot move online – the very means to get online! You have many other carriers all over the world who have the fasted 3G network just like AT&T does and also the spottiest coverage, against just like AT&T does! And worst of all, they may be the best carrier in some countries! What use will be the phone then? We are still far away from a truly global coverage on mobile data networks, especially in countries that are no fully developed.

The current Android Super phone

However, if Google chooses to work with an existing partner who agrees to play ‘Google Says’ – will it harm them all that much? We already have Google Experience phones. So now we can have the Über Google Experience phone. In any case, Google has at least realized the age old truth – if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. Dear old Steve knew that decades ago and now look where he is. Google has done things their own way so far (Search, Ads, Mail, Wave, etc.) and that has led to exponential growth. So why stop now? They have done it with the Chrome OS, where they will be strictly controlling what hardware it is running on. And I am sure they have been disappointed with some of the recent Android phones. So it makes sense logically to make their own version of the Android phone. Wouldn’t you agree?

Gmail users did receive the notification of missed calls previously with the option to see who called, read the transcript of the message or visit a new page to listen to the message left by the caller.

This has now been changed by the Google developers. It is now possible to directly play the missed messages in Gmail. The new feature needs to be enabled in the labs section of Gmail. Locate the Google Voice player from the Gmail Labs tab under Settings and enable it.

A player to play the recorded message will appear directly under the message in the Gmail interface after activation. The feature will also sync the status with the Google Voice application so that the message will not be played again when checking for new Google Voice messages.

Google Voice has a ton of great features, and in a lot of ways fundamentally changes the way you’ll use your phone. A lot of things suddenly become easier with Google Voice – checking your voicemail, sending text messages, and more – and they’re all best dealt with through your computer.

But, as of now, Google Voice doesn’t inherently let you make calls from your computer. I mean, I’ve got a microphone and speakers on my computer, as well as a fast Internet connection – why shouldn’t I be able to make calls, ideally for free?

Well, as it turns out, I can – with a little legwork. Here’s how to set it up (I did this on a Mac, so PC directions might be slightly different – the same rules will apply, though).

Disclaimer: This is all assuming you’ve already got a Google Voice account. They’re sending out invites at lightning-speed, so if you don’t have one, go get on the list!

1. Download and Install Gizmo5 (create a free account, with no call credits – you won’t need them!).
2. Open Gizmo. In the “Home” tab of the application, click “Edit My Profile.”
3. In the tab that pops up, you’ll see, filled in, a number for “SIP number.” Copy that number (everything before the @ sign).
4. In Google Voice, click “Settings”, and then “Phones.”
5. Click “Add Another phone” and paste the SIP number from Gizmo (again, only what’s before the @ Sign) into the box.
6. Name the number “Gizmo” or whatever you want, and then Save it.

Now, to make calls:

1. Open Google Voice, and click “Call”
2. Enter the number you want to call
3. Make sure the Gizmo phone (whatever you called it) is selected as the “Phone to Ring”
4. Click “Connect”
5. You’ll get a pop-up from Gizmo, with your Google Voice number on the caller ID. Answer it!
6. Google Voice will automatically dial and connect the other person, and you’ll be chatting from your computer!

The whole process only takes about five minutes, and doesn’t cost a nickel. Because you’re using a SIP number, all the data is transmitted over your cable connection rather than your phone network. That means you’ll need fast Internet to really make this work, but also means it doesn’t cost a thing!

I’m not sure how long this will be around (I’m sure carriers won’t be fans), but for now it’s a fantastic solution for making calls directly from your computer.

Dante, who is currently trying Google Voice, send me an email earlier today telling me that not everything works as smoothly as intended. One of the biggest current issues is that Google Voice numbers are not reachable. It might even be that it was possible to call the number from another phone previously.

Several users are reporting problems connecting to a Google Voice number from various devices. Other phones can call the same Google Voice number without problems on the other hand which makes the issue complicated and frustrating.

Google suggests to add a 1 to the phone number to see if it works then. They have setup a spreadsheet form that can be used by Google Voice users to report problems with the service. Users need to enter information such as their Google Voice number, an email where they can be contacted, the phone number and carrier of the caller and some additional information.

A Google employee mentioned that Google is aware of the issue and is working with carriers to resolve it:

We are aware that in some rare instances a Google number may not be reachable from certain phone carriers. We are working with these carriers to ensure that all routing information will be accurate and up to date. We expect the issue to be resolved shortly and we appreciate your patience if you happen to have been affected by this.

Dante also mentioned that the quality of international calls for the international caller is not very good at this time.