Back in the end of January we told you that Google was prepping GrandCentral 2.0. Google purchased GrandCentral back in 2007 and let it slowly die by not accepting new users over time. According to the official Google Blog this will all change shortly. They have released a preview of Google Voice that will take over for GrandCentral. If you already have a GrandCentral account over the next couple of days you should receive instructions on how to start using Google Voice. They will then open it up to other users…
The features page for Google Voice looks pretty interesting but not crazy different from GrandCentral. Voicemail transcripts sounds awesome though! Here is to hoping it will stay free.
Google number – One number for all your calls and SMS
- Call screening – Announce and screen callers
- Listen in – Listen before taking a call
- Block calls – Keep unwanted callers at bay
- SMS – Send, receive, and store SMS
- Place calls – Call US numbers for free
- Taking calls – Answer on any of your phones
- Phone routing – Phones ring based on who calls
- Forwarding phones – Add phones and decide which ring
Google voicemail – Voicemail as easy as email, with transcripts
- Voicemail transcripts – Read what your voicemail says
- Listen to voicemail – Check online or from your phone
- Notifications – Receive voicemails via email or SMS
- Personalize greeting – Vary greetings by caller
- Share voicemail – Forward or download voicemails
Voice features – More cool things you can do with Google Voice
- Conference calling – Join people into a single call
- Call record – Record calls and store them online
- Call switch – Switch phones during a call
- Mobile site – View your inbox from your mobile
- GOOG-411 – Check directory assistance
- Manage groups – Set preferences by group
Thanks Tashanna and Eliezer for sending this one in!
Nikolaus Walch ( View Profile) - Posts: 602
Posted: March 12, 2009 at 10:47 AM EST
I’ve had one for about a year now and Love it! I hope they don’t take anything away, like my free calls to Canada.
ShvartzBerry ( View Profile) - Posts: 498
Posted: March 12, 2009 at 11:52 AM EST
Amen to that! The free calling to Canada is sweet, especially since it can be initiated from a mobile phone.
ShvartzBerry ( View Profile) - Posts: 498
Posted: March 12, 2009 at 2:50 PM EST
I’m in!
One lousy thing I can say so far is that it does not bring over your old voicemails. Fortunately, they do not cut off access to the old grandcentral site so you can still get those voicemails.
Contact list also not migrated – defaults to Google contacts.
The transcription looks to be a bit better than that of the free services provided by YouMail. An interesting thing they seem to do is slightly fade the text just a bit of the words they are not completely sure about.
More comments to come…
BBflow Not Registered
Posted: March 13, 2009 at 10:33 AM EST
After waiting in no-development limbo for almost a year, I am so friggin psyched for this! Haven’t gotten the upgrade link yet, but in anticipation I have already added my GC number to T-Mo MyFaves, & changed the caller ID accordingly.
I do wonder what happens now with call rates, since theoretically if all my calls start coming and going through GoogleVoice, they’d be free & unlimited. Of course, I’m still paying out the ass for a BlackBerry data plan. But still, it seems like a conundrum.
After that Google Contact Sync fiasco*, my feelings toward BiG Brother soured, but I gotta hand it to ’em — they sure know how to completely upend entire industries with innovative ideas (if not homegrown, at least observantly acquired).
Lastly, re: YouMail. Sorry to say, but good riddance. I get more spam from them than even my landlines have ever gotten. Talk about a shitty, disrespectful business model.
*And now that gSync is ironed out, it’s actually better for me that my Google Contact list gets imported rather than my GC.
ShvartzBerry ( View Profile) - Posts: 498
Posted: March 12, 2009 at 3:08 PM EST
Shucks – they are charging 1c/min to Canada.
Only 2c/min to Israel
Nikolaus Walch ( View Profile) - Posts: 602
Posted: March 12, 2009 at 3:53 PM EST
They will now charge to Canada???????
Will Glover Not Registered
Posted: March 12, 2009 at 5:48 PM EST
Sweet. Free voicemail transcripts. HAHA youmail, guess you’re going out of business.
therock ( View Profile) - Posts: 1
Posted: March 20, 2009 at 10:29 PM EST
sdfvdsvsdsdsdfs