Faster Google Voice on Android

From the Google Voice Blog:

Using Google Voice for Android just got a whole lot faster. Until now, notifications of new messages appeared within 15 minutes of when they were sent. Today we are releasing a new feature called Inbox synchronization, which will notify your Android-powered device of new text messages or voicemails within seconds of receiving new messages in your Google Voice inbox.

To activate Inbox synchronization, open the Google Voice settings on your phone and touch Refresh and notification. Once you have selected the Synchronize Inbox option, you will start receiving faster notifications. Plus, Google Voice will automatically disable SMS forwarding to your mobile phone, so you won’t receive duplicate notifications.

Finally, we have made it much faster to interact with your contacts from the Google Voice app. Now you can click on any contact photo and get the option to quickly respond to voicemail by email or IM.

The updated app is available for download from Android Market today. You will need a valid Google Voice account to use the app, and at this time, Google Voice is available in the US only.