Google just announced that it will now make Google Voice – the company’s free VoIP telephony and voicemail transcription service – available to all students with a valid .edu email address. Currently, Google Voice is still only available by invite, though Google has gradually opened the service up to more users since its launch in May 2009. Last August, for example, Google opened up Voice for all active U.S. service members with a .mil email address. If you are a student, you can now get an invite by going to google.com/voice/students.
After signing up, you should get an invite within the next 24 hours. If you are not a student, but still have an .edu address (maybe from an alumni association), chances are that you will still get your invite.
If you are not familiar with Google Voice, have a look at this series of videos that explains how to set Google Voice up and use it.
Oddly enough, Google still hasn’t opened up Google Voice to a wider public. When Google opened up Google Voice for all U.S. military personnel, we speculated that this was a move to garner some free publicity ahead of a larger public launch. This public launch never happened, however.
While Google is waiting, new competitors like Phonebooth.com and British Telecom’s Ribbit have been able to establish a reputation for themselves by providing more fully featured services geared towards individuals and small business.
