Google Voice Phone Management Service

Google Voice is now available to subscribers in the United States after being in beta mode (with over a million subscribers) since 2007 after Google purchased a company called Grand Central.

As with all new product launches there are good and bad points, ranging from really great to oh no! However Google Voice is a free service and when combined with other free tools available from Google can provide the synergy to make a unified communication solution available to small home-based companies. As the system in its present form does not support ported numbers, users are required to use a new Google Voice phone number which can be a non-starter for businesses with a widely known or published phone number.

To recap:

• You get your own free phone number.
• You can provide customized phone messages depending on who is calling.
• You can have your Google voice number forward to any number you want.
• Voice mail messages can be transcribed to email and emailed to you. However, it should be noted that the inaccuracies are so extensive some companies may decide not to rely upon this feature in its present state.

The following information was pulled from Google’s website:

The first thing you’ll need to decide is whether you’d like to use the full version of Google Voice with a brand new phone number, or add some Google Voice features (like voicemail) to your existing mobile phone number.

The basic differences between these options are:

Google Voice with a Google number

• Use one number to manage all your phones; your Google Voice number is tied to you, not to a particular device or location.
• Voicemail like email: Save voicemail messages for as long as you’d like, star important ones, and search through them
• Voicemail transcription: Voicemail messages will be automatically transcribed to text and sent to you via email and/or SMS.
• Customize your callers’ experience (custom voicemail greetings, decide which of your phones ring based on who’s calling, send some callers straight to voicemail, etc.)
• Define which phones ring, based on who’s calling, and even ListenIn^TM on voicemail before answering the call. We use smart technology to route your calls. So, if you’re already on a Google Voice call, we’ll recognize it and use call waiting to reach you on the phone you’re on.
• Works with mobile phones, desk phones, and work phones. There’s nothing to download, upload, or install, and you don’t have to make or take calls using a computer.
• International calling: Make low priced international calls from the web or from your phone.

Google Voice with your non-Google phone number:  

With this option you won’t get some features (i.e. call forwarding, screening, and call recording), but you’ll still get plenty of others, including:

• Voicemail like email: Save voicemail messages for as long as you’d like, star important ones, and search through them
• Voicemail transcription: Voicemail messages will be automatically transcribed to text and sent to you via email and/or SMS.
• Custom voicemail greetings: Customize your voicemail greeting based on who is calling.
• International calling: Make low priced international calls from the web or from your phone.

For a complete list of the features with each option, click here. You can also check out a video about Google Voice’s You Tube channel for explanatory videos.

Please be sure to drop back by here and let us know how Google Voice works for you.