(Cross-posted from the Google Voice Blog)

867-5309 could be one of the most iconic phone numbers of all time, but it’s not the only number that a lot of us remember by heart. Many of us have a phone number that weve shared with family, friends, and contacts over the years and are reluctant to let go.

One of the most frequent requests we hear from people who use (or want to use) Google Voice is that they’d like to get all of Google Voice’s features without having to give up their long-time phone numbers.

Today, we’re excited to announce that Number Porting is available for all existing Google Voice users. This means you can make the mobile number you’ve always used your Google Voice number, so it can ring any phone you want—or even your computer.



To get started with Number Porting, log in to your Google Voice account, visit the Settings page and click on “Change / Port” next to your Google Voice number.



Porting your number to Google Voice costs $20 and is usually completed within 24 hours. You may incur additional charges, including early termination fees, from your wireless carrier. Contact your carrier to get more details about the charges applicable to you.

After porting your number to Google Voice your mobile service plan will be cancelled, and there are a couple of steps that you’ll have to take to continue making and receiving calls on your mobile device. For more detailed instructions on how Number Porting works and to find tips for making the process as smooth as possible, visit the Google Voice Help Center.

Number Porting is currently available for existing Google Voice users and will become available to new users within the next few weeks, and at this time, Google Voice is available in the U.S. only

Posted by Robert Dong, Software Engineer

Update (1:15PM): Included more details about the porting process.

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Last November, we launched the ability to edit mobile docs in English. Today we’re excited to announce that you can now edit your docs on the go in 44 more languages.

To begin editing, visit docs.google.com in your mobile browser, and select a document to edit. Switch from view to edit mode by pressing ‘Edit’ to turn on the mobile editor and start typing away. As a reminder, mobile editing is available on Android (2.2+) and iOS (version 3.0+) devices. You can learn more about Google Docs for mobile on www.google.com/mobile. As always, feedback in the comments and on the forums is appreciated.


Posted by Carmen Wilkinson, Software Engineer

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Our thirst for knowledge extends beyond the time we spend in front of our desktop computers. At Google, we are seeing mobile search grow at an exponential rate, increasing five-fold worldwide in just the past two years - a rate comparable to the early days of desktop Google Search. Today on mobile, we can get whatever information we’re looking for anytime, anywhere.

And Im not just talking about looking up basic information like the weather or a stock quote, which is what people used to do in the early days of mobile search. As mobile devices have become more powerful and connected to faster networks, smartphone users are doing a surprisingly diverse set of search tasks -- from simple lookups, to tasks that involve multiple complex searches.

But its not always easy to search from a mobile device, especially with the smaller screens and keyboards. We’ve worked relentlessly to make mobile search faster, easier, and more intuitive with features like autocomplete, Voice Search, Google Goggles, Google Instant and Instant Previews on mobile. Our work in mobile has now inspired desktop innovations like Voice Search and Search by Image, two new ways to search from your desktop, announced today at our Inside Search media event. We’re also excited to introduce two new mobile features designed to make mobile search even better.

With more searches happening when people are on the go, we’ve noticed an increase in searches for nearby places. To make it easier for people to search for what’s around them, we’ve introduced new shortcuts to commonly searched local categories, like restaurants, coffee shops and bars, in the form of icons on the mobile google homepage (www.google.com):

Shortcut icons appear at the bottom of the mobile homepage. Tap “More”, to select from additional popular categories like shopping, ATMs, gas stations, etc., a new part of our simplified Places homepage (www.google.com/m/places).

On the results page, youll see a map with markers for your current location and places around you. When you scroll through the results, the map remains at the top of the page and adjusts automatically to the listing you are looking at. That way, you can see the listing information while still getting location context from the map. Tapping on a result will quickly show you more about a place including reviews and other useful details. Discovering great places nearby has never been easier on your mobile phone.

Another mobile improvement we’ve introduced today is an easier way to build longer, more complicated searches. You can now add suggested phrases to the search box and “build” your search piece by piece. This feature is already available on the Google Search app for Android and iOS devices and we’re now making this available on www.google.com from your mobile browser. Watch the video below to see how you can search faster with less typing.

These new mobile features are now available on www.google.com on Android (version 2.2+) and iOS (version 4.0+) in 40 languages worldwide.

If you would like to learn more about today’s announcements, visit the Inside Search website, our new one-stop shop for Google search tips, features and an under the hood look at our technology. Check the site later today and you’ll find a recording of the event, answers to common questions and links to other blogs posts today on the Official Google Blog, Inside Search blog and the Chrome blog.

We hope you enjoy these new search features and we look forward to bringing you further improvements by making mobile search even faster, easier, and more useful.

Posted by Scott Huffman, Director of Engineering

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Ever missed an appointment or important email because you were away from your desk? Now Google Mobile App can help with push notifications from your Google account to your iPhone -- an icon badge shows you’ve got new mail in Gmail, and Google Calendar event reminders appear right on your home screen.

We’ve also added spiffy features to get you information faster -- when looking for flight info, weather, stock quotes or currency conversion you’ll see answers before you even hit ‘Search’.

You can get the update from the App Store by searching for ‘Google Mobile App’.

If you have any questions or comments, or if you want to learn more, please visit our help center.

Update 8/24 5:00 PM PST:

• You will only receive pop-up messages and sound/vibration for calendar alerts - new email is shown using the unread count on the Google Mobile App icon and in the apps tab.
• To ensure you get alerts go to the Settings > Google Accounts panel inside Google Mobile App and switch on the notifications youd like to receive. If you initially didnt allow Google Mobile App to receive push notifications when prompted, you can enable the feature again in the iOS Settings applications Notifications panel.

Posted by David Singleton, Engineering Manager

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