I have written before about my love of GrandCentral, the beta, Web-based phone service that allowed you greater control over who can call you and where those calls are received. I've been using GrandCentral for over a year, and have loved its capabilities. You never miss a call---just give someone your GrandCentral number---you can choose to route calls through all (or none) of your phones--including home, work, and cell. I know it's one of my GrandCentral calls (which means it's an important call) when all of my phones start to ring at once. It's especially wonderful for those important calls---like your kids' schools, or when you're waiting for the doctor's office to call. Never, ever miss a call again.
Last week, GrandCentral became Google Voice (Google acquired GrandCentral over a year ago). Some of the functionality is gone (custom ring tones that really freak your realtor out when they call you), but other things have been added: free conference calling (up to four participants); cheap international calling (cheaper than Skype); and transcribed voice mail messages. Yes, you read that right. Every voice mail message you receive via Google Voice will be converted to text and either emailed or texted to you. David Pogue reviewed Google Voice last week, and provides much more context and insight on the new features. One of his main points is that Google Voice's transcription feature brings archiving and searching of phone messages into the flow of email and text and messages. As Pogue says, "All your communications are unified."
In general, it looks exactly like Gmail, except for phone calls. I read somewhere that the 'voicemails' tag is inoperable in Gmail, leading some to believe that Google Voice will eventually slide right into Gmail, where the two services will co-exist nicely. It also integrates in your Google Contacts (this is your address book), adding some additional weight to this theory.
It's the future of phone service and a true change in how we communicate. Now, if only they'd bring back the Vegas ringtone from GrandCentral. I'll wait for that.
More info on Google Voice (including screen caps) available at Google OS.
Last week, GrandCentral became Google Voice (Google acquired GrandCentral over a year ago). Some of the functionality is gone (custom ring tones that really freak your realtor out when they call you), but other things have been added: free conference calling (up to four participants); cheap international calling (cheaper than Skype); and transcribed voice mail messages. Yes, you read that right. Every voice mail message you receive via Google Voice will be converted to text and either emailed or texted to you. David Pogue reviewed Google Voice last week, and provides much more context and insight on the new features. One of his main points is that Google Voice's transcription feature brings archiving and searching of phone messages into the flow of email and text and messages. As Pogue says, "All your communications are unified."
In general, it looks exactly like Gmail, except for phone calls. I read somewhere that the 'voicemails' tag is inoperable in Gmail, leading some to believe that Google Voice will eventually slide right into Gmail, where the two services will co-exist nicely. It also integrates in your Google Contacts (this is your address book), adding some additional weight to this theory.
It's the future of phone service and a true change in how we communicate. Now, if only they'd bring back the Vegas ringtone from GrandCentral. I'll wait for that.
More info on Google Voice (including screen caps) available at Google OS.
Can't wait for Google to open Google Voice (GrandCentral). Unfortunately I am not among the beta users but have read a lot of good things about Google Voice. Can you post a few screen shots in an upcoming post about it?
Cheers,
Z-