That’s what the rumors are saying.  Google which likes to do a lot of its beta and alpha testing in-house, is rumored to be working and now testing a Google Voice desktop client.  They want to create a Skype-like desktop app so they can compete with the afore mentioned Skype.  We all know that Google Voice originally started out as GrandCentral a few years back.  They changed the name from GrandCentral to Google Voice last year after Google acquired Gizmo5.  Gizmo5 was one of Skype’s main competitors.  Google Voice is built using VOIP technology, its a internet based phone forwarding service by Google.  They give you a local phone number, which you can give out instead of your cell phone number.  When someone calls, it is forwarded thru Google Voice to your cell phone for example.  Although it has never been known how Google has used Gizmo5’s technology.

Hopefully Google plans on making their service more like Skype and how their app works.  You won’t have to have an actual phone or have your calls forwarded to your cell, but instead you can receive any kind of incoming call on your desktop.  Techcrunch, who sources broke the story, claims the public launch could be “possibly soon.”  If this is all goes well, this will be a huge, and could change the way we answer calls and use the phone, for a long time to come.

[via Techcrunch]