Image via CrunchBase
Those of us who have had Gizmo5 accounts, and saw them swallowed up by Google (which promptly stopped accepting new account registrations) have wondered what Google’s plans for the service were. My belief was always that they bought it for the technology, some of which was incorporated into Google Voice. Anyway, I just got a copy of an email that reveals the fate of Gizmo5. It reads:
Date: Fri, 04 Mar 2011 22:22:48 +0000
Fri, 04 Mar 2011 14:22:48 -0800 (PST)
From: Gizmo5 <support@gizmo5inc.com>
To: (redacted)
Subject: Gizmo5 Important Update
Reply-To: support@gizmo5inc.comHello,
Gizmo5 is writing to let you know that we will no longer be providing service starting on April 3, 2011. A week from today, March 11, 2011, you will no longer be able to add credit to your account.
Although the standalone Gizmo5 client will no longer be available, we have since launched the ability to call phones from within Gmail at even more affordable rates.
Thank you,
The Gizmo5 Team
You have received this mandatory service announcement email to update you about important changes to your Gizmo5 account.
So, now we know. And yes, this does mean that those who have been using Gizmo5 as a way to bring Google Voice calls into their Asterisk servers using a direct SIP connection will have to find some other way to do it — and in many cases that alternative method may actually cause Google to have to pay terminating charges to complete those calls (unless, of course, they have plans to deliver SIP calls directly, which would be great, but so far I haven’t heard of any such thing).
Of course there are other ways to bring Google Voice calls into an Asterisk server without going through the PSTN, either by upgrading to Asterisk 1.8, or running FreeSWITCH as a gateway between Google Voice and Asterisk, or by using an Obihai device (such as an OBi110) as a gateway. But if you’re now using Gizmo5 to bring calls into your Asterisk server, you’d best plan on doing something different before the April 3 deadline arrives.
hospodi said
yeah i’m am out of gizmo!
got a pap2 and need a substitute.
looks like i got to get an OBi110 but until then i am trying to configure the gv=> pap2 => incoming calls
looks like i need a us did
then give that to gv
then program my pap2 to receive the sip call from the did provider.
sipgate and sip sorcery are both closed to new accounts.
any idears? particulars??
thanks!
JC said
hello I received a different email:
—-
Hello,
Gizmo5 is writing to let you know that we will no longer be providing service starting on April 3, 2011. A week from today, March 11, 2011, you will no longer be able to add credit to your account.
Although the standalone Gizmo5 client will no longer be available, we have since launched the ability to call phones from within Gmail at even more affordable rates.
In order to make this change as smooth as possible for you, we’ve put together a couple of options to help you transition off of Gizmo5’s service.
Keep your Gizmo5 call-in number by porting it to Google Voice. To initiate the port, please log in to http://my.gizmo5.com and follow the instructions at the top of your account page. If you don’t have a Google Voice account, please create one first so that we can port your call-in number.
Transfer your call credit or get a refund. If you purchased calling credit and have a balance remaining in your account, log in to http://my.gizmo5.com and select from one of the following options:
Transfer your call credit to your Google Voice account, which can be used for calling from Google Voice or Gmail. If you don’t have a Google Voice account, please create one first so that we can transfer your credit. If you are outside of the United States and Google Voice is not yet available, a transfer will not be possible, so please request a refund of your remaining call credit.
Request a refund.
Please request your number port, call credit transfer or refund by April 3, 2011. If you don’t request a call credit transfer or refund by this date, we will automatically refund your remaining call credit via the payment method originally used to purchase the credit. Note that if you paid via Moneybookers or if your credit card on file has expired, we will not be able to automatically refund your remaining credit, so please log in to initiate the refund process.
———
I had 3 call-in number : 2 US and 1 UK
Unfortunately I can transfert only a US one.
I’m just wondering if after the transfert to my google voice account. I will 2 numbers on GV ? My previous GV number and my Gizmo5 number.
or if my GV number will be erased.
Any idea ?