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Google announced (via Twitter) that over 1,000,000 people placed calls from Gmail within just 24 hours. This feature began rolling out yesterday (and as far as I can tell isn’t even finished yet).

“Gmail voice and video chat makes it easy to stay in touch with friends and family using your computer’s microphone and speakers,” says Google software engineer Robin Schriebman. “But until now, this required both people to be at their computers, signed into Gmail at the same time. Given that most of us don’t spend all day in front of our computers, we thought, ‘wouldn’t it be nice if you could call people directly on their phones?’”

Over 1,000,000 calls placed from Gmail in just 24 hours! Thanks to everyone using this new feature http://bit.ly/aRgNtc

Google tested the feature internally before releasing it to the public (in the U.S. so far). When users with Google Voice numbers call people, that number will display as the caller ID.

Along with the launch, the company showed off some phone booths it will be setting up in universities and airports. Danny Sullivan got to peek inside one:

The phone booths should go a long way in showing off this feature and familiarizing people with Google Voice in general, which seems to be the company’s real goal.

Clearly there is an interest in making phone calls from Gmail, as the numbers from the first day indicate.

Google released a new Gmail Labs feature today that lets you search across email and Google Docs. If you turn it on and search from the Gmail search box, you will simply get results from both places, when applicable.

“Where is that presentation? Was it attached to an email? Or in Google Docs? If you’re not sure, you may end up searching several places with the same query in order to find it. With the new ‘Apps Search’ lab, we just made that all a bit simpler,” writes Google software engineer Bram Moolenaar.

“You may notice that mail results show up just as fast as before while non-mail results may take a tiny bit longer. That way, if you’re just looking for an email, having this lab enabled won’t slow you down,” adds Moolenaar.

The feature also comes with “did you mean?” suggestions.

Given that the feature is a Gmail Labs experiment, it is subject to bugs, so keep this in mind if you turn it on. The feature can be turned on by going to Gmail settings, and clicking the “labs” tab. From there find “Apps Search”.

Skype announced today that Skype mobile is now available on more devices on Verizon – the LG enV Touch, the LG Chocolate Touch, and the Samsung Reality.

Skype mobile lets users make free calls to landlines and mobile phones internationally, as well as send IMS to other Skype users. Skype-to-Skype calls are free and don’t count towards Verizon Wireless minutes.

Calls o other mobile or landline numbers in the U.S. do count toward Verizon’s minutes. Calls to international mobile or landline numbers can be paid for using Skype Credit or other subscriptions.

Skype mobile for these devices can be found at the Verizon Media Store. Users can also text SKYPE to 2255 to get a download link. The service is also available for Android and Blackberry (on some devices) on Verizon.

Google has a new beta release available for the Chrome browser with some new features. Among these, is a new user interface, which was previewed on the developer channel in June, including changes to the toolbar and omnibox.

Google software engineer James Hawkins talks about a couple of the other new features on the Chrome Blog. “One of my favorite features, Autofill, helps you fill in web forms automatically with information that you specify, such as your name, address, phone number, and the credit card number you use for shopping online,” he says. “Autofill builds up and saves this information for you over time, so that you can fill in long web forms with just a few clicks without typing in the same information over again. For your security, any personal information stored in Chrome is safely stored and kept private until a user chooses to share the information with a website. Additionally, your credit card information is never saved without first asking you explicitly.”

“We also continue to bring more synchronization capabilities to Chrome,” he adds. “In addition to syncing bookmarks, preferences, and themes, you can now choose to sync your Chrome extensions as well as your Autofill data (excluding credit card numbers) through your Google Account. With Chrome’s sync features, you can personalize your Chrome experience and access your painstakingly curated set of bookmarks, preferences, themes, extensions, and Autofill data from any computer you choose, as long as you’re signed in to your Google Account on Chrome for that computer. To start syncing, go to the the ‘Sync’ section of the “Personal Stuff” tab in Chrome’s options.”

In addition to the new interface and these features, the new beta is faster. Google has always placed a great deal of emphasis on speed with Chrome, and they continue to do so. Hawkins says its 15% faster on both the V8 and SunSpider benchmarks. You can see the progressions on these visually here.

Google is now letting businesses respond to reviews posted on their Place Pages in Google Maps. This should be huge for reputation management, particularly as Google continues to place increased emphasis on these pages.

“Engaging with the people who have shared their thoughts about your business is a great way to get to know your customers and find out more,” says John Maguire of the Google Place Page team. “Both positive and negative feedback can be good for your business and help it grow (even though it’s sometimes hard to hear). By responding, you can build stronger relationships with existing and prospective customers.”

“For example, a thoughtful response acknowledging a problem and offering a solution can often turn a customer who had an initially negative experience into a raving supporter,” he continues. “A simple thank you or a personal message can further reinforce a positive experience. Ultimately, business owner responses give you the opportunity to learn what you do well, what you can do better, and show your customers that you’re listening.”

Google actually has a user guide with some tips on how to handle your responses, just in case customer service isn’t your strong point.

You must have your listing verified before you are able to respond to reviews.