iPhone users may need a moment to verify that today isn’t April 1st, but it’s official: Google Voice for iPhone has been released.  Google made the announcement this afternoon, potentially overshadowing Apple’s own iTunes- and Beatles-related news item.

After all, true Beatles fans have surely figured out a way to obtain the band’s music in digital form by now – perhaps for free.  Duplicating the features offered by Google Voice was a trickier, and more expensive, proposition.

So let’s be clear what’s at stake.  A post on the Official Google Blog explained that Google Voice for iPhone features include "[c]heap rates for international calls," "[f]ree text messaging to U.S. numbers," "[v]oicemail transcription," and the ability to "[d]isplay your Google Voice number as caller ID when making calls."

Also, "With push notifications, the app will alert you instantly when you receive a new voicemail or text message," and "[m]ost of your calls will be placed via Direct Access Numbers, making them connect just as quickly as regular phone calls."

Not bad, eh?  The only potential downside is that Google Voice remains a U.S.-only service at this point in time.

Otherwise, we’d recommend iPhone owners consider signing up for an account and downloading Google Voice for iPhone from the Apple App Store as soon as convenient.