That of course means Google could do lots of things. The "grabber" headline might be that Google now wants to "out-Skype" Skype by introducing a feature-rich calling service able to communicate with standard telephone devices, but also allow all sorts of rich and affordable features for IP-enabled devices on broadband networks.
According to that logic, Google might be readying a disruptive global calling service aimed either at Skype or at the global tier one telecom providers, either mobile or fixed.
But Google has other options as well. Those options might make as compelling headlines, but could make virtually any Google application more compelling.
In any of a number of scenarios, Google might be looking at anything but becoming a challenger to traditional telecom services, and maybe not even a direct challenger to Skype. The value of SIP is that it can "communications enable" virtually any Web application.
It could add voice communications, video or audio conferencing, messaging or other message and call handling features to any other Web-based application. As eBay once described the upside when buying Skype, voice communications could be added to any potential eBay transaction.
That didn't materialize, but the point is that SIP will be easy to integrate with Web applications and global IP communications in the way communications service providers are used to providing it.
In the perhaps more likely scenario, Google would work to embed rich communications into any number of its applications. In its mobile search efforts, Google would be able to create a location-based search experience that included one click calling, for example.
The same would be true for its mapping and turn-by-turn communications feature for Android mobile devices.
SIP could help Google embed live communcations links in Google Docs, or Wave, allowing real time communications to be a simple one-click feature of collaboration.
The point is that Google likely is not looking at anything so pedestrian as a "Skype killer." Embedded voice, messaging and video communications might be a very attractive feature for any advertiser using any Google application as an ad venue.
In any of these scenarios, Gizmo5 brings Google, and Google Voice, the ability to embed communications in nearly every application. It is the mass market equivalent of "communications enabled business processes" in the enterprise space.
Sure, Google might leverage the Skype style communications to enhance Google Voice. But it seems unlikely to me to stop there. As VoIP proponents always have argued, the real value lies not in free or cheap calling, but in changing the nature of the communications experience. In all likelihood, Google is thinking that way.
