Google Testing Desktop VoIP Client

Google is making a run at Skype. Tech Crunch is reporting that the Internet giant has developed a desktop VoIP client which will enable users to make and receive calls from their desktops, similar to Skype’s client.

Google is using the software it inherited last November when it acquired Internet VoIP provider Gizmo5.  Gizmo5, which operates on open standards, enables free VoIP calls over the Internet and inexpensive calls to landline and mobile phones.  Currently, however, the service has to be tied to an existing phone – hence the development of the desktop application.

There’s no official launch date yet; Google just started testing the client internally last week. This “dogfooding” of products (as in “eating your own dog food”) is a common step in the development of a beta app. Companies often want to try a product or service internally before it launches to the public.

Related posts:

1. Google Voice Desktop App Preview
2. Google Buys VoIP Provider Gizmo5
3. Facebook Testing a VoIP Feature?
4. Google Launches VoIP Application
5. Google Voice Enables Number Porting