Just got a Google Voice account

[Jim 777]

You can get notifications, read, and listen to your voicemail on the Droid with the Google Voice app.

except the text version of your voice mail is, how do you say, less than adequate.
It's not realistic yet, but it's only a small part of everything you get with a GV account.

 

[Travis798]

I know someone with a GV account, but they don't know how to get an invite for anyone. Does anyone know how the invites get passed out?

You sign up on the web, you go on a waiting list. Or someone has an extra one and offers it up. Or you buy one on eBay for a few dollars. That's what I did.

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Sorry Jonny, I should have been more specific. How does someone who has a GV account obtain an invite to distribute?

When logged into your Google voice account, the lower left portion of the screen will have a like that looks something like Invite a friend (3 left). If they click the link, they can put in an email address to send the invite.

 

[takeshi]

now what?

Use it.

If you need ideas, tips, etc there are GV guides everywhere out there including many threads on this very site. If you have specific questions there are a lot of very helpful people here.

now you have an extra phone number you can... um...

Best use IMO is to completely switch over. Granted, you can use it however you want and each person has different needs/wants. I just find it more convenient to have one number to give out to everyone.

I cannot figure out how to receive text messages through my GV account.

Just have people SMS your GV number. You'll receive messages via the GV app.

except the text version of your voice mail is, how do you say, less than adequate.
It's not realistic yet, but it's only a small part of everything you get with a GV account.

It really depends on the caller. In nearly every case I get enough of the gist of the message to not need to even listen to the message.

 

[Sayersj629]

Use it for voicemail. My droid forwards all unanswered calls to my GV number where the caller can leave a message, which is then transcribed and emailed to my gmail account which I can access on my phone.

But the best reason to use it for voice mail is because Verizon's voice mail is a large steaming pile of ****. You'll never again need to listen to ten saved messages just to delete the 'Hi, it's mom call me back message' (you showed up in my missed calls I know its you and I will most certainly call you back) thats been causing the horrific voicemail icon in your notification bar for a week.

 

[zetachi]

You can get notifications, read, and listen to your voicemail on the Droid with the Google Voice app.

except the text version of your voice mail is, how do you say, less than adequate.
It's not realistic yet, but it's only a small part of everything you get with a GV account.

LOL at less then accurate....It's god awful

her is the message i got from my Chrysler service center

Hi database. Ex-wife you keep going. Today, Saturday the 24th. It's 3:30. I just want to let you know we are looking to call with check it out. So if I have done anything wrong. I will call you on Monday, but if I find a single you could be able to pick it up. Okay, thank you. :icon_eek:

 

[Jonny Kansas]

It's not accurate because people in general have HORRIBLE diction. When you're using something like voice search, you purposely tend to speak more slowly and clearly, even if it's sub-concious. However, someone leaving you a voicemail isn't trying to speak so that a computer understands them. They're just trying to get the info out and be done. Not to mention accents, both foreign and regional...

On a side note, you can log on to GV on your computer and tell it whether a transcription was helpful/accurate. If you tell it no, it gives you the option to send it to them to help improve the system.

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[nighthawk700]

Some messages are awful, some are close enough that make sense, and once in a while I get someone who speaks loud and clear, and get a word for word transcript. Wish I had that last one more often!

 

[michael383]

Actually Jonny Kansas, you get the option of sending it to them whether it's useful or not. At least, I have before...

And I agree, the transcription so far is quite terrible. Some have been okay but most have not even been usable for me, not even in the slightest.

So far I have set up a few personal voicemail messages for the people that call the most (mother, wife, etc) but no one has left me a voicemail since then.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Actually Jonny Kansas, you get the option of sending it to them whether it's useful or not. At least, I have before...

And I agree, the transcription so far is quite terrible. Some have been okay but most have not even been usable for me, not even in the slightest.

So far I have set up a few personal voicemail messages for the people that call the most (mother, wife, etc) but no one has left me a voicemail since then.

Thanks for sharing! Haven't played with it on the PC since I first set it all up. I knew the non-useful was for sure.

Now that you mention the personal greetings, I'm considering setting some up myself. Is there a limit? I think, if I find some time, I'd like to personalize messages for each of my closest friends and family. You know, with their names and such...

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[Jonny Kansas]

Oh...and I get a kick out of the errors. I like gv fir playing messages without calling in, but my buddies and I sometimes leave crazy messages to see what it thinks we're saying. My cousin literally spoke gibberish in one, and it tried to make words. Pretty good times reading them aloud after a few drinks.

Kinda reminds me of Madlibs...

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[michael383]

As far as I can tell Jonny there is no limit. I too will eventually set up a message for each person. The issue I have with how that works is that each message applies to a 'group' of contacts in your phone, which has to be setup online (which I am sure is easier than on the phone) so you end up with a bunch of 1 person groups. If GV wants to improve it would simply allow you to make a person a contact group of their own so you could have a message for each contact then and simplify the entire process of creating the group and then adding one person.

Yes, it's not THAT difficult, but if it's for more then a handful of people it will get a little time consuming and really, really annoying since it's not simplified at all.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Yeah, kinda figured that. I think that's why I didn't do it initially. I don't have a lot of groups. Just star the people I call often.

I use my Droid more for texting and web/data anyway, but I'd like to set up cm messages for a number of people who MIGHT try to call me occasionally.

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