Google Voice is going to die and become a part of Hangouts. It's going to be great. And it might actually be happening soon because you can now make Hangouts calls from the Google Voice homepage.
This (very minor) change brings Hangouts and Voice closer together than they've ever been and cuts Google+ out of the equation by not requiring an account. It's the kind of change that makes you ask the question Why are these two services separate anyway?
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Hopefully they won't be much longer. [Engadget]
DISCUSSION
What's with the Gawker hatred for Google Voice? It works just fine. I might be more inclined to like Hangouts if I could use it from my cellphone to make 1c-per-minute calls to Europe. But I can't - that's what Google Voice is for.
In my experience, if you're looking for a product to demonise, Hangouts is the one you should be looking at.
If they kill Google Voice, then hello Vonage.