Google upgraded the Google Voice application it wrote for the iPhone to enable phone-management capabilities on Apple's iPad and iPod touch.

Google Dec. 14 said it augmented its Google Voice phone-management application for the iPhone to run on Apple's iPad and iPod touch.

U.S. users may download the new version of Google Voice to send and receive free text messages and enjoy voice mail transcription, listen to live messages left on voice mail and other communications perks.

Users cannot make calls with the Google Voice application from the iPad and iPod touch, which lack calling capabilities. However, users may still manage their Google Voice inbox and enjoy the Click2Call feature.

This feature will trigger Google Voice calls from the iPad and iPod touch devices to mobile, home and work phones users have set up to work with Google Voice. Google Voice will call the line that users select and connect the call.

Google finally saw its native application for Apple's iPhone approved for Apple's App Store in November, putting an end to a 16-month rift between two companies competing in the mobile phone market.

Apple had blocked Google's original Google Voice application submission from its App Store because it competed with its iPhone features.

To mitigate the lack of Google Voice support on the iPhone, Google launched a Web version of Google Voice for iPhone based on HTML5 in January. However, the Web application lacked push notifications to alert users to new voice mail or text messages.

The new native version of Google Voice for the iPhone, which Apple blessed after easing its developer terms of service, offers push notifications. These alerts have just been improved.

As of today, when iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users turn push notifications on in the Google Voice application, Google will automatically disable text forwarding so users don't see duplicate notifications.

Users may also send all callers straight to voice mail by turning on the “do not disturb” function in the settings tab.

Users can also place calls from the address book more conveniently by adding a dedicated contacts button to the dialer tab.

The Google Voice application is available to download from Apple's App Store now for the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch running iOS 3.1 or later. The application requires users to have a valid Google Voice account, available only in the United States.

The introduction of Google Voice for the iPad and iPod touch comes one day after Google launched a native Google Latitude friend-finding application for the iPhone.