Google Voice is launching on BlackBerry and Android smartphones.
Android and BlackBerry owners who are also Google Voice users will be able to use the service directly on their handsets starting on Wednesday, said Vincent Paquet, senior product manager for Google Voice.
Google Voice, which is expected to be available at some point on Wednesday, lets users assign a single number to ring their home, work and mobile phones, and also get voice-mail messages as text transcriptions.
With the new applications, Google Voice users will be able to make calls from their smartphones with their Google Voice numbers displayed on the other end of the call, alleviating a common frustration with the service, Paquet said. They'll also be able to get their transcribed voice mail inside the dedicated application rather than having to use their phone's browser to see that text.
Google Voice for the iPhone is coming, but is not ready yet, Paquet said. He said Apple and Google are working on getting an iPhone version out the door, but declined to comment on exactly what was holding up the process.
Google Voice uses a carrier's existing network to place calls, so the calls count toward a mobile subscriber's monthly allotment of minutes.
Android users will be able to find the application in the Android Market or on Google's mobile site. However, BlackBerry users will have to download the application from Google rather than from the BlackBerry App World.
