Google Voice for Android Adds Notification and Call Options [Downloads]

Android: An official Google Voice app update plugs two niggling holes in its settings and options, allowing users to determine how and when their phones alert to new messages, and whether Google Voice or the phone hardware makes their calls.

The first release of Google Voice for Android offered Voice users an all-or-nothing proposition. Either you wanted to use Google Voice for every U.S. call, only for international calls, or not at all. The latest version available in the Android Market, 0.1.415, adds another option to ask you before placing each call whether to call on your standard carrier number or through Google Voice. It would be great to see a toggle setting for each contact—the boss gets your Google Voice number, friends on the same network get their free minutes—but it's a helpful step.

The other settings tweak deals with your voicemail/SMS notifications. You can set a specific ringtone/bleep for them, and/or have your phone vibrate and use its LCD light. Not a big sexy update, but it's something Voice users encounter every day.

An updated Google Voice app can be downloaded free from the Android Market, or found at AndroLib. Thanks Gordon!