Free VOIP phone service utilizing Gizmo and Google Voice

New functionality introduced by both TheGizmoProject and Google bring up an interesting new possibility, entirely free phone service, including both outbound and inbound calls. These free phone services existed, but had not, until July 2009, worked together. Here is the scoop:
Google Voice is the outcome of the acquisition of "GrandCentral.com" by Google. The free phone service gives you, for free, a new telephone number, with your selection of wide choices of area codes. The main benefit is that you could alter the routing of this number at will. You could divert calls to your number to your cellular phone, to Google's online based voice mail, to your telephone, etc. And, you could do complicated routing like calling both your cellular phone and office telephone at once. You could also make outbound calls by going to your Google Voice site, and telling it to connect one of your registered telephones to the number you are trying to call. The service then calls your phone, and once you answered, rings the other end.
The service is exceptional; call quality is perfect, etc. The only missing feature is utilizing Google Voice w/out paying for a cellular phone or home phone.
Go in the "GizmoProject". Gizmo is a service that is very similar to Google Voice, but utilized on its own, you should pay extra for a phone number and outbound calls. What it does give is a downloadable "soft-phone" that permits you to make telephone calls from your computer, making use of either a headset, or the microphone and speakers in your laptop.
So, what is new then?
In a quiet way, over the past few weeks or so, The Gizmo Project and Google Voice began working together, and have made 2 integration points that brought you the best of both worlds:
1. Google placed a feature that enables you to setup a "Gizmo" account as a phone. That signifies someone reaching your voice number could ring the "soft-phone" on your laptop or desktop.
2. "TheGizmoProject" placed a feature that enables outgoing calls to be routed making use of Google Voice, which signifies you could make outbound calls for free from the Gizmo computer "soft-phone" application.
So, utilized together, you could get a telephone number within your area code that could both receive and make calls for free, with no set limits on the number of minutes utilized.

Our article with a lot more info on free VOIP: Compare Voip Providers
The general Home Phone and VOIP section of the site.