What Is Google Voice?

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andymellon4

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and i get the basic concept like its kind of a new phone line but why do it?

What does it really do that causes this much havoc...
I want one just because of the hype haha
 

romangreen23

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I am not that familiar with the service, but my friend was wary of it b/c of the overwhelming amount of data that Google would have on your personal life/info (with Voice, they'd have all your voicemails digitized apparently).

Still, Google isn't the bad guy, but I'm not exactly jumping on this service's bandwagon... yet...
 

aaf709

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You should Google "Google Voice" to see all the features, but you you can use it for your cell's voice mails. You can get text messages with the transcript of your missed message, or listen to it. Currently it's invite only, but if you do what I suggested in the beginning you can ask and get one in a few weeks.
 

romeov

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People really need to search, the amount of threads just asking what google voice is are getting staggering on here. There are tons explaining it everywhere, hundreds even.

And remember, google voice is not a Droid specific service at all, so by far the best info is going to be at the actual google voice website/forums. but in the meantime:

How To: Totally Overhaul Your Phones With Google Voice - Google Voice - Gizmodo
 

SSHGuru

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I just got it. You can pick one of two options. 1) Keep your number and basically get free voicemail translated into text and emailed to you with the sound file, or 2) A whole new number where you can give it to people as your primary number and connect all your other numbers to it. That way you have one number which combines many.

Honestly in this day when most people just have a cell # I would think #1is preferred.
 

romeov

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I just got it. You can pick one of two options. 1) Keep your number and basically get free voicemail translated into text and emailed to you with the sound file, or 2) A whole new number where you can give it to people as your primary number and connect all your other numbers to it. That way you have one number which combines many.

Honestly in this day when most people just have a cell # I would think #1is preferred.


Yep, that's pretty much the only thing getting the actual google number can do.

Oh, except these few, tiny other features hardly worth mentioning:


  • One number: a single phone number that rings all your phones, up to SIX different phone. Your cell, your landline, your work number, your girlfriend's/parents/kids house, your hotel room, your Skype/Gizmo5 number.

  • Custom call filters by time. Set it up so from 7am to 8am on the way to work your number rings your cell, 8 to 5 calls your office line, 5 to 6 calls your cell on the way back home, 6 to 7 goes straight to voicemail for a quiet interrupted dinner, 7 to 11 goes to your landline, and 11 to 6 am goes to voicemail for an uninterrupted sleep. All with ONE number to call, and nobody calling you has any idea anything is different.

  • Free Google visual voicemail: Voicemail comes directly to my Droid, already transcribed, and I just hit the play button to listen.

  • Complete integration into Android 2.0 on the Droid, intercepts all incoming and outgoing calls if you tell it to, and puts new voicemail, and SMS notifications right in the notification bar so it acts exactly as you are used to.

  • Voicemail transcription: read what your voicemail says and sticks it right on your Droid: Not always perfect, but more than good enough to get the drift of the message and getting better everyday.

  • Custom greetings: vary voicemail greetings by caller. I can leave a custom, personal voicemail for EVERY single caller in my phone book if I want.

  • International calling: low cost calls to the world. Like 2 cents a minute low cost

  • Notifications: read voicemail messages via email or SMS

  • Share voicemails: forward, embed, or download voicemails

  • Free SMS: send, receive & store text messages online. Once again FREE text messaging using the Google Voice app on your Droid. No 10-15 a month texting plan anymore from Verizon.It uses your 3g connection instead. (note this is for texts and voicemail ONLY, not calling.. you use your normal minutes for that)

  • Block calls: send unwanted callers straight to voicemail, or make them hear a "The number you have dialed is no longer in service" message, and never hear from them again. Telemarketers, old girlfriends, Bill collectors. All gone instantly. Using your number on the web for sites like craigslist and shady store accounts has never been easier, you can block them if they get out of hand.

  • Record calls: record phone calls and store them online - Free

  • Conference calls: join several people into a single call - Free

  • Screen callers: hear who is calling before you pick up. Literally, your own personal secretary answering the phone and asking all, or just unknown or restricted callers to announce their name before they are connected to you. When you pick up, you hear their name, and have the option to answer, send them to voicemail, or send them to voicemail and listen in on that voicemail live.

  • UNLIMITED free calling if you have a qualifying verizon friends and family plan, when you set your incoming Google Voice calls to display YOUR GV number, and then add that number into your fav five or whatever.. all calls become free. (Not sure how long verizon will let this go though)

  • Super cheap or free VOIP calls when forwarding your number to a Gizmo5 account.. Now that Google has purchased them, this will eventually be integrated into Google Voice itself, but be aware right now your calls are NOT voip, they use your cell minutes if you use your cell)
Not that any of those are actually worth mentioning though ;-)

Oh yeah, and it's all 100% free
 

SSHGuru

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That's a far more detailed explanation but having picked #1 since I only have a cell phone (and if someone calls my work phone the voicemail gets sent to my cell anyway) - which of those above features apply.
 

romeov

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Good question.

Your existing number:

  • Google voicemail: voicemail like email
  • Voicemail transcription: read what your voicemail says
  • Custom greetings: vary voicemail greetings by caller
  • International calling: low cost calls to the world
  • Notifications: read voicemail messages via email or SMS
  • Share voicemails: forward, embed, or download voicemails
Google number uses all of the above as well as:

  • One number: a single phone number that rings all your phones
  • Free SMS: send, receive & store text messages online
  • Block calls: send unwanted callers straight to voicemail
  • Record calls: record phone calls and store them online
  • Conference calls: join several people into a single call
  • Screen callers: hear who is calling before you pick up
Google Voce also now allows you to upgrade to a google number at any time.. so worth it in my opinion, changing your phone number is not that huge of a deal as people make it out to be, plus it's this number for life, no matter what new phone or carrier I change to later on! (provided Google stays in business longer than I live)
 

SSHGuru

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Comments below..


Good question.

Your existing number:

  • Google voicemail: voicemail like email
  • Voicemail transcription: read what your voicemail says
  • Custom greetings: vary voicemail greetings by caller
-- Gotta figure out how do do that....

  • International calling: low cost calls to the world
-- I never go overseas for now at least..

  • Notifications: read voicemail messages via email or SMS
-- SMS unnecessary since it tells the google voice app tells you.

  • Share voicemails: forward, embed, or download voicemails
-- If I have a need for it I suppose it's ok.

Google number uses all of the above as well as:

  • One number: a single phone number that rings all your phones
-- I have just my cell and work phone. If I'm not at work then generally I don't want to be bothered. If someone leaves a VM on my work phone I can listen to it on my cell through my service anyway.

  • Free SMS: send, receive & store text messages online
-- If I was younger maybe SMS would be more used but since I'm in my 40's I find it fairly unnecessary...

  • Block calls: send unwanted callers straight to voicemail
-- Might be useful. But at the same time a swipe off when you see them calling does the same thing with minimal effort.

  • Record calls: record phone calls and store them online
-- I don't see a use for this at least in my life.

  • Conference calls: join several people into a single call
-- That comes with my phone account... and I still don't use it.

  • Screen callers: hear who is calling before you pick up
-- That's a part of the phone again... it shows the number or name.

Google Voce also now allows you to upgrade to a google number at any time.. so worth it in my opinion, changing your phone number is not that huge of a deal as people make it out to be, plus it's this number for life, no matter what new phone or carrier I change to later on! (provided Google stays in business longer than I live)

-- I can always upgrade my google voice to the new number if my life changes but I've been using the same cell number for so many years now that I can't imagine needing anything else. My cell is on me ALL of the time. Landline phones are becoming useless since even kids get cellphones at young ages. Most business lines can be forwarded etc...


All in all yeah it's a great free service and I'm not complaining. I like the transcription and free VM. I just don't see much of a life changing event with a google number. And yeah I do find it a pain to tell everyone I know I have a new number to call. If I change carriers I can take my number with me.
 

romeov

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Well there you go, then you are a perfect example of someone who should go with option number one because they are uninterested in most of what Google Voice has to offer. (although, I'm kind of surprised you even want to use GV at all from how happy you seem with your current service)

I, along with plenty of others are very much interested in most if not all of the extra features the full GV offers. Some (like the free texting) is worth it just for that alone. (I would assume 95% of the users on this forum, or Droid users in general, use text messaging)

Although, I do have to point out a few things:

-- SMS unnecessary since it tells the google voice app tells you.

This is actually very necessary for people who don't use the Google number as their main line, and want to check it from a non-android phone.. remember google voice can be used with any phone service, we Android users are just a percentage of that group. I know plenty of people who have their voicemail notations forwarded to their non-smartphones via sms.


  • Block calls: send unwanted callers straight to voicemail
-- Might be useful. But at the same time a swipe off when you see them calling does the same thing with minimal effort.

It's actually not the same thing at all. The blocking feature is worth it for me alone. With your option, you see them calling, and swipe the phone to ignore and send to voicemail.. every.. single.. time.. they call, and they can and will keep bothering you for years, forever actually, whenever they want wondering why you are ignoring them. And everytime, you hear the ring, check the ID, send it to voicemail, and then have to deal with listening to the voicemails every single time. On top of that they can also text yo.... forever. As soon as someone calls once that I don't want to have my number, I log into Google online, and click "block caller" and they will nevr be able to call me again. They will hear a recorded message that the number is dead and no texts or voicemails will ever come through, nor will my phone ever ring from that number again. And I don't have to do anything again, so.. I would say that's a bit easier than swiping ignore every single time.


  • Screen callers: hear who is calling before you pick up
-- That's a part of the phone again... it shows the number or name.

I get what you're saying here, but it's actually not the same thing by any means. You're talking about caller ID. This is not caller ID, this actually answers your phone for you, and makes the caller say his or her name, and then rings you, and presents their name for you to accept or reject. Now obviously, I doubt you would have a use for this, but you can set it up to only come on for unknown callers, restricted callers, or callers not already in your address book. it's a killer feature to a lot of users, including me. I love knowing my friends call right through to me and anyone not on my list is presented by my virtual secretary.

And yeah I do find it a pain to tell everyone I know I have a new number to call. If I change carriers I can take my number with me.

I understand that, but I assume everyone you call is in your contacts list? Mine are, as are most others. I sent one group text message to my entire list, and another group email to my entire email list and successfully switched my number for hundreds of my friends and colleagues in under four minutes. Was that four minutes a pain? I guess so, but more than worth the result.

And yes, you're right, you can port your number to a new carrier, but remember this is for all kinds of phones, landlines, work lines, you name it, and while it may be possible, that's not exactly easy to do and keep your number every time.

But do you personally need or use these features? No. So you're right, it's not for you.. I just want to make sure other users reading know that for me, and tens of thousands of others.. it very much is.
 
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