If you have a Gmail account, you can now call your friends and family from it.  A new button labeled “Call phone” is now visible at the top of your chat list.  Click it and a dial pad pops up; you can dial a person by entering their phone number or contact name.  After some initial test runs, I am happy to report that calls sound nearly crystal clear on both ends (far better than on Skype).  If you have a Google Voice account, you can easily tweak settings so that you can both send and receive phone calls on your cell phone, too.  Read more about that here.  “For at least the rest of the year” calls made to the U.S. and Canada will remain free of charge.  International rates are fairly cheap; they start as low as .2 cents per minute.  You will be able to purchase additional credits through Google Checkout.  Check out the full list of international rates here.  Before you can start using the new “call phone” feature inside Gmail, you must download the free voice and video plugin for your browser if you haven’t done so already.  Once that’s completed, you’re all set!  Give it a try and remember that calls made within the U.S. and Canada are free…so what are you waiting for?

[Via GoogleBlog]