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Hands on (a little late) with GV Mobile for jailbroken phones

by Erica Sadun Jul 31st 2009 at 5:00PM

After writing about the GV Mobile situation on TUAW the other day, a helpful TUAW reader sent me a Google Voice invite (thanks Ian M! You rock!). I set up my account, hopped over to a jailbroken 3.0 iPod touch and downloaded a copy of the software via Cydia. I then copied it off the touch via sftp, signed it with my developer credentials and installed it through iTunes on a non-jailbroken iPhone to see what I'd been missing.

GV Mobile offers a pretty nice feature set. You can use it to set your Google Voice preferences, such as your preferred phone, so that when calls come through the right phone rings. That's an awesome feature on-the-go. Yes, the same option is available at the Voice website, but I really like the simple interface GV Mobile offers to switch that number with just a couple of taps.

You can dial directly from the app out to other phones. You still use your AT&T minutes but you avoid having to navigate through the Google Voice command interface. When the call is over, you return to the application.

The SMS and voicemail features are also very nice, each offering a dedicated screen and easy to use interfaces. A lot of design thought went into the program and it shows, especially in these two options.

Unfortunately, since the application was ported for a jailbreak install, it would no longer remember my user credentials between sessions. Be aware this approach works fine for review but isn't meant for a day-to-day bypass of the App Store, unless your Google username and password are trivial to type over and over again.

Despite the excellent number setting, SMS, and Voicemail features, I felt that most of the application features really needed to be integrated at the OS level, which they presumably will be in Google Chrome or Android. Apple provides its own OS-level telephony system and using this app for outgoing calls really felt more like work than time savings. Yes, the outgoing International rates are superb on Google Voice and the connection quality far exceeds that of Fring's SIP-based services or Skype's iPhone app. That said, I think the application could have benefited from a greater focus on the SMS/voicemail features with the telephone portion being pushed back in prominence.

The program does exhibit a few minor quirks. For example, when I tap on the call history tab, I'd prefer that it gave me a button to load that history from Google Voice rather than do so automatically and trap me, especially when I meant to hit another tab.

All said, I really did enjoy using GV Mobile. I think it has good functionality and must have been a really good App Store offering, while it was there. If you do have a jailbroken iPhone system to test it on, it's certainly worth a spin. And if you find you use it, the application is donationware.



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After writing about the GV Mobile situation on TUAW the other day, a helpful TUAW reader sent me a Google Voice invite (thanks Ian M! You...
 

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23 Comments

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Janine

I'm New to all this and I'm wondering if I set this up correctly. My phone is jailbroken and I installed GV Mobile via cydia. When I make an outgoing call it rings on my phone first and then when I answer it, it then goes out to who I am calling. I'm confused on why it comes to me first??? Also if I make an outgoing call and end it quickly I see it in my call log on my iPhone. I'm confused am I doing something wrong or is this just not gonna work? Help, thanks;)

October 16 2009 at 12:04 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
DaveK

Is there any way to download the app without having a jailbroken device? I'd like to do what Erica did and sign the app myself to try it out, but I don't have a jailbroken device. I've searched around, but all I can find is the references to Cydia, which requires a jailbroken device. Does anybody have the app that could archive it up and forward it to me?

August 04 2009 at 3:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Hi Ravi

i got this app thru cydia a few days ago and it remembers my name and password...

August 02 2009 at 4:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Hi Ravi's comment
Erica Sadun

Likely because you were using it on a jailbroken phone. I was not.

August 02 2009 at 6:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Skeuomorph

"the connection quality far exceeds that of Fring's SIP-based services or Skype's iPhone app"

Is there some version of GV Mobile I don't know about?

My GV Mobile's "connection" is a regular cellular call, from Google to me over AT&T, and from Google to the person I'm calling over their telco.

As far as I know, when I'm talking on a call dialed via GV Mobile, my phone is NOT doing VOIP, but a regular cellular call over AT&T.

August 01 2009 at 7:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Skeuomorph's comment
ebrodeur

@skeuomorph...i wondered the same thing.

From what I know (been using Grand Central for a long time) the service simply calls your phone of choice and connects you. Perhaps Google is using SIP on their end once the call has been relayed to you. Not sure I ever read anything which described what technology they were using.

Considering you NEED your iPhone to accept (and make) a GV call the App Store rejection is pointless. You still need the minutes on your AT&T plan.

Apple may as well pull Skype, Fring, and all the rest of the phone/IM/SMS apps which, in effect, "duplicate functionality of the iPhone on AT&T's network."

August 02 2009 at 3:52 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
A. G.

Good write-up Erica.

I just downloaded GV Voice on Cydia the other day and I've only had to log in once. It's remembered my information ever since.

Have you tried reinstalling it? Cause it really diminishes the value of the app if you have to keep entering your info every time you go back in (much like you said).

Hope it works out for you!

August 01 2009 at 5:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Meatheadmike

Does anyone happen to have an extra GV invite? I've been trying to get one of those for ages. If you could help me out I'd be most appreciative: mikesk * at * gmail.com.

Thanks!

August 01 2009 at 12:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
jbrown510

Erica - did you end up running GV mobile On your iPhone under 3.1 beta or 3.0? Did you run it on your touch at all?

I wouldn't have expected Apple to allow any app to replace the default dailer or VVM the way the google app can on Android, but an approved app that could make use of Apple's push servers for notification of SMS and VM would have been nice. Obviously that can never happen with a JB app. Hopefully the FCC action yesterday will push Apple to be more transparent as well as more tole
rent of apps. While responses to the FCC are due by the august 21st I would expect actions for months...

What bothers me about thos rejection is the same thing that bothers me with so much other established technolgy bussiness, big bussiness using their dominance to try to quash changing paradigm rather than adapt.

Media bussinesses refused to evolve their bussiness models in the face of digital distribution. Telecom companies are refusing to evolve their bussiness models in the face of alternative networks. Niether seem to realize that consumers are tired of being milked for obcsene profits an simply want take take advantage of lower cost alternatives, if entrenched bussiness can't figure out how to profit from the new modalities then they SHOULD fail, the capitalist darwinsm.

In short AT&t needs to come up with rate plans that fairly charge consumers for the services they use, not restrict the services because they can't fiuure out a way to package and market it.

August 01 2009 at 11:20 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
exnewt

This is like "Netshare", which allowed WiFi sharing of a 3G connection, that was yanked (then added back, then yanked permanently) from the iTunes store.

Moral of the story is as soon as you hear of an App you are interested in (and there's more than these two) buy it immediately.

August 01 2009 at 7:07 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Allen

I was lucky enough to get the app at the store for my jailbroken iPhone and it works okay enough. I don't make calls our of it and I don't need SMS through it because I have an unlimited SMS with my carrier.
What I really would want it for is the messages. I would want to forward calls to the GV site and retrieve them at my leisure. BUT the iphone's forwarding feature is less than grand:
You can't screen calls with the iPhone. If you put your phone on call forward, ALL calls are forwarded without notification to you. I would rather be able to screen.
So, it's not all that great, all things considered.
But, Hullomail would work for that so I am waiting for that app. My wife's G1 has it and it's great.

August 01 2009 at 2:51 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
David

Is there any way to get this app without a jailbreak?

August 01 2009 at 1:32 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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