GV Mobile + 3 for iOS

A long awaited release of GV Mobile + version 3 hit the iOS App Store today. For me, this was a great day. I have purchased this app enough times that Apple really should rethink how they run their own App Store when they railroad a developer. I purchased this app once, twice, thrice, and now for the fourth time all with a smile. GV Mobile, as it was originally called before Apple pulled it from the App Store, was great. The developer Sean Kovacs, had both a head start on the competition and a great iOS app.

Apple pulled the app from the App Store for reasons that appeared less than stellar and forced Sean to release the app on the underground app market. The release of GV Mobile on Cydia prompted me to jailbreak my iPhone and gladly put the money down once again for the app. After sometime GV Mobile returned to the App Store but the catch was Sean had to rename the App due to App Store policies. Apple could not even bend a rule for a developer they screwed over, hard. GV Mobile + became the apps new name. 

Here we are a great deal of time later and after eight months of development version three is out in the wild and I could not be happier. This app is so much better than Google's official app I can't understand why they just didn't purchase Sean's work and hire Sean to code their own app. Without going into all the features I will instead post a few highlights and recommend GV Mobile + if you decide to purchase a Google Voice app. 

Dialer screen

My favorite feature in the app is the ability to forward my phone number to other numbers attached to my Google account. Sounds like an automatic feature, but with Google's official app this is not an option and you must login in through a browser to set the forward number. This is not convenient when you are stepping on a plane for vacation and realize you forgot to forward your phone to your office.

Call or message by touching the icon in the lower left hand corner of the screen

My now second favorite feature Sean has created is his own Push notification service. I trust Sean more than I do NSA Google on this one. This app has auto and manual setup to enable this feature. It takes two minutes. In fact, it took me about five minutes and I was having difficulty because Sean's servers were overloaded from all the new app activations. Understandable and not a big deal.

All your Google folders at the swipe of a finger

My third favorite feature is the new VoIP option that is included. This means when I am out of the country, in a building where I have wifi but no cellular service, or I just feel like cutting back my minutes, I can call with just a data connection. It works so good that there is little doubt this is the future for all phone traffic.

VoIP as a call option

I get asked a lot why I use Google Voice. I am not the biggest Google fan by any stretch but sometimes they get it right. It is simple, Google Voice allows me to separate my business life from my personal life. As a small business owner, when you go on vacation you just want to turn your phone off but you can't because you are afraid you are going to miss an important call. The alternative is to forward your Google Voice number to your office. This elimnates the worry you will miss a call. You also get two phones in one. No more two phones to separate work calls from home calls. 

My only real con to using Google Voice is the inability to not receive SMS messages. With GV Mobile + the ability to send media is an option but the recipient receives a web address they must visit to see the photograph. It works but it can be a bit awkward.

For $2.99, GV Mobile + is a solid investment for an iPhone app.