Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced that via an update to Google Hangouts users will be able to make free phone calls to eachother as well as to numbers within the US and Canada.

The search giant is also introducing “affordable” calling rates abroad, which should equate to a few cents a minute. This is a clear extension of the company’s Voice service, which has been rumored to be killed off but really only appears to become integrated into Hangouts. This move makes sense as Google has been quietly trying to integrate all forms of communication, Voice, Video and Chat under one app. Right now, hangouts combines chat (once Google Chat) with video but with this update it it adds voice, simply making Google Hangouts more useful and versatile.

Google Hangouts

This is a clear attempt by Google to also compete with some of the already existing voice, chat and video services that exist as third party solutions. However, those services do not have free calling outside of the application and don’t come as the default messaging app on Android. The one thing to also consider is that even though Hangouts is a great app, it still doesn’t come default on a lot of devices due to manufacturer or carrier customizations. This is changing with the newer crop of smartphones, but that will take some time to really take hold on the whole Android install base. Some carriers, like AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) push their own cloud messaging services which make Hangouts a secondary messaging service to the regular consumer that doesn’t know the power of Google Hangouts.

Google expects to push out the update to Android users over the coming days and a simple update of Google Hangouts will enable free calling via Hangouts. If you have the iOS or web app, Hangouts will already have this functionality the next time you use it. The one thing Google failed to mention, though, is that they didn’t say anything about the Hangouts desktop app or when that functionality will come to those users.

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As the world of smartwatches continues to move forward, Qualcomm’s ‘reference’ design smartwatch appears to be getting better and better, adding major new features well after the device’s initial release in September and since our initial review. Back in February, Qualcomm added activity tracking functionality, which is something that they had promised when the watch was originally announced. Since then, they’ve added some new watch faces and done some regular maintenance on the watch and the associated app and we’ve been using it all along the time since the Toq has such great battery life. Well, yesterday, we got wind of a new update and updated the application, which rolled through an update to the watch as well and lo and behold there was voice to text functionality added to the watch. This means that you no longer have to respond to text messages or any text communication via canned messages. With the Nuance powered voice to text functionality you can now quickly and easily respond to text messages without having to take your phone out or use any canned messages.

I took the Toq with Nuance for a test drive yesterday and the accuracy of the Nuance-enabled voice to text functionality was astonishing. In a quiet environment, it did a great job of perfectly transcribing my voice responses to text and sending them off quickly. The entire process was very quick and simple as now when you want to respond to a message you have three options instead of two (canned msg, voice to text and call). You simply press the middle button and it gives you something like 10 seconds to compose your message verbally and when you’re done you simply press the button again or stop talking and hit send if the message is correct, or redo. Then it sends the message and you’re on your way, its really quite flawless. It even picked my voice up perfectly in a crowded bar and understood multiple people fairly clearly, even though it did have a bit of a hard time understanding my mom’s Russian accent with a certain word.

Qualcomm’s Toq smartwatch with Nuance voice recognition

Otherwise, it was a very welcome thing to see added to the Toq and simply makes the platform as a whole even more competitive against what is out now or expected to come from other companies. In fact, I would say that companies that have chosen to implement the Toq platform, including the Mirasol display may actually have a significant hand up on their competitors because this platform has been very well perfected by this point, even though Qualcomm still hasn’t said anything about that iOS support they talked about back in September. With iOS capability and a higher quality design (not all plastic) anyone could pick up this smartwatch as a platform and do some amazing things, really. Which reminds me, we’ve already contacted Qualcomm about this, but the screws on our Toq have started to rust a bit which according to them is the first time they’ve seen such a thing happen but may be an indication that Qualcomm needs someone to pickup this platform and do it with very high quality materials.

Either way, there’s a reason why the Toq is still my preferred smartwatch of choice, and that’s simply because it provides the most reliable base level of functionality while still improving little by little every few months. I’m just excited to see what’ll happen once someone like HTC, Samsung or LG picks up this Toq platform and does something interesting with it, but as with all things, that takes time.

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Boost Mobile, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sprint, today announced that they would be offering new plans for those looking to get cheaper unlimited pricing. Boost Mobile has traditionally been Sprint’s budget carrier offering, offering cheaper devices and cheaper plans, so it comes as no surprise that they are now coming out with an offering designed to compete with T-Mobile’s latest ultra-cheap offerings.

Boost Mobile’s new unlimited plans

However, keep in mind that Boost Mobile is Sprint’s biggest pre-paid user base, which does not help with post-paid numbers but does ultimately affect the bottom line. In the past, Boost Mobile offered users to lower their bills by $10 a month until they reached a certain low price if they paid their bills on time. However, that plan appears to have been thrown out the window in favor of these new “unlimited” plans which effectively mimic T-Mobile’s unlimited plans that offer a certain set amount of high speed data followed by an unlimited amount of slower 2G/3G data. With Boost Mobile’s approach, they appear to be considering 4G/3G service as high speed (which Sprint’s CDMA network is not) and 2G as throttled, which is really worthless.

By coming in $10 cheaper than T-Mobile, Sprint is enabling themselves to gain more users even if they are only offering 500MB a month, which in today’s world is only possible for older people or people that haven’t discovered the internet yet. Either way, 500MB will get evaporated quite quickly which is why AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile all offer different prices for all of their plans. For AT&T prepaid, you can get 500 minutes of talk and unlimited texting and 500 MB of data for $40 a month, but this does not compare with Boost Mobile’s service because it is capped data and you don’t get unlimited talk. For Verizon’s prepaid, you pay $45 a month, but you get unlimited talk and text as well as 500 MB of data, which is very comparable to Boost Mobile’s plan, especially when you consider that you’ll effectively have worthless internet once you’re kicked off 4G/3G on Sprint. So, here, Sprint and Verizon are equally as competitive in my eyes. And last but not least, you’ve got T-Mobile, which offers a $40 plan that has unlimited talk and text like Boost Mobile and Verizon, but also offers 500 MB of high speed data with no overages, perfectly mimicking Sprint’s plan. Except, T-Mobile’s plan is probably better because you will get better throttled speeds than what Boost Mobile has to offer, and you can basically buy any phone and it’ll probably work on T-Mobile, unlike Boost Mobile, which has to be CDMA.

However, if you go for the $50 plan, Boost will give you the better deal, because you get 2.5 GB of 3G/4G data rather than 1GB, which is what most of their competitors are offering. The same goes for their $60 plan, which gives you 5GB of data, which T-Mobile only gives you 3GB of data for. But, let’s also remember that Sprint’s network is VASTLY slower than T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon’s networks and the probability that you will be able to even achieve 5GB a month of data on that network is probably as possible as finding a unicorn under a rainbow. But there is still no denying the fundamental value of Boost’s plans if you want a little more than 500MB of data, which is admittedly a joke for anyone doing any real internet usage on their phones. The 2.5 GB plan is the most attractive at $50 a month and is without a doubt the best value in mobile, if you have decent speeds on Sprint in your area.

Either way, we’re glad to see that Boost Mobile has adjusted their plan pricing to properly reflect the competition within the industry and we have to thank T-Mobile once again for forcing their competitors to wake up and be more competitive because they’ve been stealing so many subscribers, they’ve basically forced them to react. I really hope that this trend continues and that T-Mobile is able to continue to check AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, and this is a perfect example of why Sprint should not be allowed to acquire T-Mobile. If it weren’t for T-Mobile, Sprint wouldn’t be forced to change their pricing on their Boost Mobile prepaid subsidiary.

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