Bad news...

I received an email today from Android Market:

This is a notification that the application, Google Voice Callback FREE, with package ID com.xinlu.gvdial has been removed from Android Market due to a violation of the Developer Content Policy. For specific details regarding this particular suspension, please see the Intellectual Property and Impersonation or Deceptive Behavior sections of our Content Policy. Please also be advised that aspects of your application’s listing in Market, including but not limited to the title, logo, description, and posted screenshots are also subject to the above terms.

So, while I wait for response from the Android Market Team, Google Voice Callback will be (hopefully temporarily) unavailable on the Android Market.

[Since I'm completely inept on the artistic side, I smash the Google Voice icon with a check mark to make an icon for the app, which, in hindsight, is probably the cause of suspension. Finger crossed that Google will let me publish a new version after changing the icon...] Update: the app is still available on Amazon Appstore. If you bought the donate version on Android Market and do not want to purchase the donate version again, please send me an email.

For those who commented on some of the old posts....

Gah, technology glitches! Apologies to those who commented on older posts on the blog - the comments are all waiting for moderation, and I don't even know I need to moderate! I'll get to answering your questions soon, I promise :)

Google Voice Callback v0.11 is out!

What's new in v0.11?

• New callback rule: contact group
  
• New callback rule: whether a number is saved in contact
  
• Improved "waiting for callback" dialog - now it will prompt and provide more information when waiting is too long (usually because of some setup problems)
  
• Option to not show the waiting for callback screen (in Advanced Settings)
  
• Append area code and GV compatibility setting are now moved to Advanced Settings page
  

Enjoy!

Calendar Quick Add v0.6 is out!

What is new in v0.6?

• Main addition: GTask quick add! (Read more below)
  
• New icons
  
• Bug fixes
  

About the new task quick add feature, here are what you need to know:

The dream, AutoHotkey-powered foot pedal for programmers and ergonomanics

As a hobby programmer and someone who in general use the computer a lots, I'm acutely aware of my hands/arms's general well-being ever since I felt the symptoms of numbness a few years back. Often times not using the computer or typing less is not an option, and a foot pedal is a godsend so that my feet can relieve my hands' duties from time to time.


Some foot pedals out there designed (as they claim) explicitly for ergonomically-minded people are just outrageously expensive, not to mention that their drivers / software do not seem to be very flexible. So, instead of those pedals, I picked up an Infinity transcription foot pedal (INFINITY-IN-USB-1) for less than 40 bucks on eBay, and hacked my own driver for it. The Infinity pedal is designed for transcription (i.e. has Play/Rew/Fwd buttons), but it has 3 sturdy buttons and is actually a great pedal to be re-purposed.

Quick note on Google Voice / Sprint integration

Yes, Google Voice / Sprint integration is now live, but if you would like to continue to use Google Voice Callback, think twice before integrating your Google Voice number and your Sprint number. Integration will merge your two numbers, and thus you will have nothing to callback to - and Google Voice Callback will no longer work.*

* Calling back to your other numbers (home, work, VOIP, etc.) will be unaffected, of course.

Making free internet-based call using your Android phone

It's not a secret that you can make free calls using your Android phone and Google Voice, even without a SIM card in your phone. This is NOT a step-by-step guide, but instead a general description of how it works. Warning: setting this up is not a trivial process. You will need to fill in all the details for yourself. Google (Yahoo/Bing/your search engine of choice) will be your best friend.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided below comes with no guarentee of any sorts. Absolutely nothing. I do not encourage, endorse, or recommend the actions suggested below. Do them at your own risk, and don't blame me even if your phone stops working, your house burned, you lose your boyfriend/girlfriend, your candidate of choise loses the election, or the doomsday comes.

What you need

Let's first go over what you need:

• Google Voice Callback app
  
• A Google Voice account
  
• Internet connection for setup as well as every time you make a call
  
• A VOIP account that works with the SIP protocol
  
• A real phone number (DID) that can transfer call to your SIP account
  
• A SIP app for Android
  

Google Voice Callback v0.10.1 is out!

A quick update. What's new in v0.10.1?

• Now you can choose from multiple callback numbers when making a call (just select multiple callback numbers in the settings). Let me know if this works well!
  
• minor fixes for those who donated via Paypal (thanks!)
  

Enjoy!

Calendar Quick Add v0.5 is out!

This update for Gingerbread is long in coming, sorry! The main change is the fix for Gingerbread crash, but there are lots of small improvements here and there:

• Recognizes phrases such as "in 72 hours" or "in a week"
  
• Recognizes keywords "noon", "midnight", and "now".
  
• Fully spellt out months such as "September 25" is now recognized in text quick add (previously it was only recognized in voice quick add)
  
• Recognizes year as in e.g. 3/18/2012
  
• If hour is greater than 12, assume it's in 24-hour format regardless of setting.
  
• Show day of week on confirmation screen.
  
• Hopefully fixes ending date before starting date bug and the 12 hour into the next day bug
  
• Detects 12/24-hour format and day-month/month-day format from system settings in first run setup
  

Enjoy!

Google Voice Callback v0.10 is out!

What's new or changed:

• option to auto append area code to outgoing numbers. This will only apply to numbers with exactly 7 digits.
  
• homescreen shortcuts to change callback number
  
• much more powerful Tasker/Locale plugin: check it out! You can now change callback numbers and several other settings from Tasker/Locale. Let me know if you want other settings to be accessible from Tasker/Locale.
  
• an menu item to "test" a number against filter rules - for those of you with somewhat complicated rule setup, you can easily test your wildcards/regexes.
  
• Homescreen shortcut to turn on/off is now also available from the homescreen itself (the usual way, via long presses on an empty space on the homescreen)
  
• A fast scrolling thumbnail is added to the pick number screen when creating new filter rules.
  

Enjoy! And happy belated Valentine's day! :)

Google Voice Callback v0.9 is out!

What's new / changed?

• New filter rule to filter by phone type (mobile, home, etc.)
  
• Filter rules can now be ordered via drag and drop. Rules are checked in the order you specified, and the check will stop once a match is found.
  
• Option to start CSipSimple before callback.
  
• The passwordless login method is refined a bit in the setting page, and the error catching is more streamlined.
  
• Ask one more permission to fix problem with passwordless login for some Android 2.1 phones.
  
• Now uses the Android 2.0 Contact API when applicable, which should solve some phone's problem with no contacts shown when picking rules.
  
• Call log clean up should now also take care of the callback through Android 2.3's SIP stack.
  
• Fixes for Quiet Hour.
  
• User interface tweaks here and there. :)
  

A note to CSipSimple users: for even better compatibility, get the CSipSimple version (from their website) that has the filter feature. Add a filter for your GV number to auto-answer the callback call.

Enjoy!

Google Voice Callback v0.8 is out!

Happy new year! Google Voice Callback v0.8 brings in some new things:

• (Android 2.0+ only) Login no longer requires entering password; can use the existing authentications on the phone.
  
• The progress dialog when calling back is now dismissed before a new one is up. Overlapping dialogs should now be gone on some devices (some Android 1.6 and others).
  
• Number checking for pattern rules with wildcard "*" are now checked after characters "-() " are removed to allow better matching.
  
• Quiet Hours settings page should now respect the user's preference for 12/24-hour format.
  
• Some better error / information messages.
  

The big change, of course, is the passwordless login. If you have a Android 2.0+ device (that is, Eclair, Froyo, or Gingerbread), it is highly recommended that you change to the new passwordless login if possible. It is much more secure! This does not work for Android 1.5 and 1.6 users, however, because the authentication API does not exist for Android version below 2.0.

Enjoy!

Google Voice Callback v0.7 is out!

This one has been long in coming; I was occupied with some real life tasks (good luck to me on my graduate school applications, everyone!) Anyways, v0.7 is out:

• turn off callback completely for certain weekdays and hours (see Quiet Hour in setting)
  
• can now call your own GV number
  
• bug fixes
  

The major change is the "Quiet Hour" feature, which is among the number one asked: turn off callback completely for certain time (such as any time other than Monday-Friday, 7am-8pm).

(Those of you who like to play around with your phone probably already implemented this feature on your own with Tasker/Locale. This feature is simply here since perhaps some of you don't want to pay for an extra app to do something as simple as this. I still strongly encourage you to use Tasker/Locale to turn callback on/off based on more complex situations. More features on the plugin is forthcoming, including the ability to change the callback number with the plugin. Stay tuned!)

Happy "callbacking" and happy holidays!

Changes in v0.7.1

fix bug in Quiet Hour

Google Voice Callback v0.6 is out!

There are lots of changes in this one (though most of them not visible to the end user). So keep the bug report going!

What's new/changed in v0.6:

• (Experimental) support for auto-answering the callback call. One less click from you! You need enable it in the preferences to use this feature.
  
• Better compatibility with the official GV app. To ensure true compatibility, you should set the official GV app's "Making Calls" setting to "Use Google Voice to make all calls". Don't worry, Google Voice Callback still works despite that settings! You should make sure, though, that no other call interceptors are enabled. Otherwise things might not go as expected.
  
• Perhaps the most noticeable change: there is a new settings page! The settings pages are now made to be more robust, less mistake-prone, more foolproof, and more reliable.
  
• Killed a bunch of bugs/potential bugs.

In v0.6.1:

• Small bug (FC) fix for phones that does not report their numbers

In v0.6.2:

• Small bug fix (should affect very few users anyways).

Enjoy!

Google Voice Callback FAQ

Here is a list of frequently asked questions and answers:

Q: What is the differences between your app and the official Google Voice app? Why do I need Google Voice Callback?
A: As its name implies, my app uses callback mechanism, which means it intercepts your outgoing calls, and then it asks Google Voice to call you back so that when you pick up the incoming call from your Google Voice number, you are connected to your original outgoing number. That means you actually never call out; you answer a call from your Google Voice number.
The official Google Voice app, in contrast, calls out, which means it dials another number instead of your original number (some number from the 416 area code) then transfer you to your original number on their (Google's) end. That means you are virtually dialing a number that does not even exist on your phone book.
Is the difference significant? If you want some form of free call, then it is. See questions/answers below.

Google Voice Callback v0.5 is out!

v0.5 contains mainly changes that make Google Voice Callback interacts better with other apps on your phone. The changes are:

• A plug-in for Locale or Tasker, two very flexible automation apps* for Android. It means that now you can decide whether you use Google Voice Callback based on situations, including but not limited to: hours of the day; days of the week; GPS location; Wifi availability etc. The possibility is limitless!
  
• Google Voice Callback now proactively helps to keep your call log clean, by removing the "fake" entries from your Google Voice incoming call and transferring properties such as call length etc. to the real number you actually called.
  
• Interact better with Sipdroid (see a separate blog post!): option for auto-answer for the Google Voice incoming call, and option to start Sipdroid when callback.
  
• Display the type of phone number (mobile, home, work, etc.) in the pick number screen for setting callback rules.
  
• Other fixes to prevent possible crash.
  

As always, enjoy! If you find the app helpful, donation is always appreciated!

* I apologize that both Locale and Tasker are paid apps. I want to keep Google Voice Callback a simple and small app that does one thing only, and does it well, instead of trying to accomplish too much. Duplicating functionality that another app already does well is not fun...

Make Sipdroid and Google Voice Callback work together

Many of you (including me) use Sipdroid for calling over internet. The setup can be made pretty convenient, but not enough for me! Thankfully Sipdroid is open-source, so I modified Sipdroid to make it work a little better with Google Voice Callback.

DISCLAIMER: this is a purely fun personal project that I did for myself. I made no guarantee of usability or suitability for you! Use at your own risk, and don't complain if it makes your current GV-SIP setup not working, or burns down your house, or causes global warming.

The modified version of Sipdroid is based on an older version, 1.3.7 beta. I have not had the need to update (and got burned once when one update broke the callback mechanism). I may consider update my changes to a newer version of Sipdroid, but don't count on it!

The major changes I made to Sipdroid are:

• Exposes some internal functions so that Google Voice Callback can start Sipdroid's service on background. You can enable the option to start Sipdroid when callback occurs (in the main setting screen for Google Voice Callback, press Menu -> Preferences).
  
• I added an option to auto-answer incoming call from your Google Voice number (and optionally disable ring for such incoming calls). To find the option, open Sipdroid, press Menu -> Settings -> Call Options -> Auto-Answer number / Disable Ring for Auto-Answer.
  
• I removed the annoying red LED notification from Sipdroid when network is not available.
  

You can find the modified version of Sipdroid and the modified source here:
http://code.google.com/p/google-voice-callback-for-android/downloads/list

Be warned that the download apk file is signed with my key, which means that you cannot install it on top of existing Sipdroid. You must uninstall Sipdroid from your phone before installing the modified Sipdroid apk.

Calendar Quick Add v0.4.3 is out!

What's new in v0.4.3:

• (Experimental) support for HTC Sense UI devices (Hero, Incredible, Evo, etc.).


• Fix the am/pm reversal bug when the hour is 12


• Allow alternative syntax for time input - now also accepts hh.mm (i.e. 8.30 is acceptable for 8:30)
  

If you own a HTC Sense UI device, let me know if everything works well!

Enjoy, as always :)

Calendar Quick Add v0.4.2 is out!

This is a quick update to be compatible with the newest Android version (2.2 aka Froyo).

Let me know of any problems!

Enjoy!

Google Voice Callback v0.4 is out!

What's new?

• Call logging is back! (It was accidentally removed in the last version)
  
• A toggle shortcut to quickly turn callback on/off.
  
• Filter rules! See here for detailss.
  

v0.4.1 has some minor fixes and minor features including

• A new type of rule that specifically matches US phone numbers.
  
• Rules that match using regular expressions
  

v0.4.2 has some fixes for the Force Closes (FCs) that used to happen when the login info is not correct.

As usual, I can only test the new features as much. Let me know if you ran into problems.

Enjoy!

If you appreciate my work, consider donating! Via Paypal below, or by buying the donate version (search Android Market for "Google Voice Callback Donate").