The press release and product announcement for the Google Chrome extension for RingCentral all say things like:
"Make Gmail and Google Calendar your business communications hub."
"Make and receive calls and business texts from Gmail"
"Click to dial any phone number that appears in Gmail"
"The app runs in your Gmail account and can be used to place and receive calls."
While those statements are all basically true, they do not actually say that you can make calls directly from the Chrome browser, which is what I and many other people we expecting when we read the product description. The key, missing fact should be in big letters at the top of the product information.
You must have a RingCentral phone on your desk IN ADDITION TO the new Chrome extension. The Chrome extension IS NOT a replacement for a softphone on your computer. Clicking a phone number in your Chrome browser, or dialing a phone number in the Chrome browser makes your desk phone ring - a useful feature, no doubt, but not exactly what the promotional material implies.
I installed the Chrome extension on my Ubuntu machine expecting it could finally make calls with my RingCentral account. Alas, it was not to be. I got to a coffee shop to test it and discovered that it can't actually "Make and receive calls" as promised. After that I tried it on my MacBook Air with the same result - all I can make it do is ring my desk phone.
Am I missing something?
"Make Gmail and Google Calendar your business communications hub."
"Make and receive calls and business texts from Gmail"
"Click to dial any phone number that appears in Gmail"
"The app runs in your Gmail account and can be used to place and receive calls."
While those statements are all basically true, they do not actually say that you can make calls directly from the Chrome browser, which is what I and many other people we expecting when we read the product description. The key, missing fact should be in big letters at the top of the product information.
You must have a RingCentral phone on your desk IN ADDITION TO the new Chrome extension. The Chrome extension IS NOT a replacement for a softphone on your computer. Clicking a phone number in your Chrome browser, or dialing a phone number in the Chrome browser makes your desk phone ring - a useful feature, no doubt, but not exactly what the promotional material implies.
I installed the Chrome extension on my Ubuntu machine expecting it could finally make calls with my RingCentral account. Alas, it was not to be. I got to a coffee shop to test it and discovered that it can't actually "Make and receive calls" as promised. After that I tried it on my MacBook Air with the same result - all I can make it do is ring my desk phone.
Am I missing something?