Call phones from Gmail is free to the US and Canada for the rest of 2013. In addition to calling a phone number in Gmail, you can also receive calls if you have a Google Voice account.
To place a call in Gmail:
Make sure Google voice and video chat plugin is installed.
- 1. Now make sure the Chat box is expanded in Gmail.
- 2. Click Call phone under Chat.
- 3. Use the keypad (with your mouse or the keyboard’s number block) to dial the desired number.
- 4. You can also start typing a contact with a phone number under Search or dial; the number will be entered automatically.
- 5. If a number appears in an email message and is highlighted as a link, you can also click it to have the Gmail dialer come up with the number pre-entered.
- 6. Click Call
To end the call, click End.
To receive calls in Gmail:
- Make at least one outbound call from Gmail.
- In Google Voice, navigate to Voice settings under the gear icon.
- In the Phones tab, click the check box next to Google Chat.
One neat feature with call phones from Gmail is the ability to switch phone in the middle of a call. For example, if you answer your call in Gmail and wish to switch to your cellular forwarding number, pressing * will cause your cellular forwarding phone to ring for you to complete the call.