Google Voice in the Real World

I've been reading the articles on Google Voice, and while all of them hint at the real "cool factor" of Google Voice, none have taken it so far as to explain how it works in the real world, for Joe Average person. I have recently added a Google Voice number to my account, and have aggressively started using the service. It works for me very well. But first, I want to explain what Google Voice is, and what it isn't.

Google Voice isn't VOIP, or a replacement for your current phones (cell phone or other wise).

Google Voice is a "router" of sorts. Think of Google Voice as a persistent administrative assistant that knows your every move, someone you give even your home phone to, for emergencies only. But Google Voice is better.

I work out of a home office, and I really can't control what phone number people call me on. Some people like to call my home office, some like to make sure they get a hold of my by calling my cell phone, the assumption being it's always next to me. Then others call my home phone, for "personal" issues. With Google Voice, I choose which phone I want to speak on. It's simple, really. When Google Voice is setup, just like any Google service, through your web browser, you "add phones" to your account. Google will call you for a quick automated confirmation, and that phone is now available to your Google Voice account. You can set the hours you want the phone to ring, if at all.

The real power comes when you have several phones you're trying to manage. Again, I can now have my office phone, cell phone, and even my Skype phone, right at the same time, and I get to choose which I want to use. Without sounding too much like a Ginsu commercial, "But wait, there's more". I can transfer the call from one of my registered phones to any other "mid call" by simply hitting the "*" key on my phone. The other phones will ring, and I pick up on that new phone. This has been very handy for me after some exceptionally long conference calls where my batteries have started to die. Unfortunately, this service is only available for inbound calls at this time.

Google Voice treats calls and voice mails like Gmail treats emails. It's easy to see who's called, and either add them to your contacts, archive, etc. But the real power comes with the call screening and call blocking options. Google Voice forces your callers to "announce themselves" if they aren't calling from a phone that already has a recorded name (most cell phones already have this). You can mark telemarketers as "spam", which sends them directly to voice mail, without ringing your phones. For those really annoying calls, you can "block" them, which plays the "this line has been disconnected" message. Quite effective against unwanted callers.

For those callers you do want to take a call from, you have some options as well. When you answer your phone, Google Voice tells you who is calling (the recording of the "announce yourself" prompt) and gives you options to answer, send straight to voice mail, or listen in to the voice mail. That's right, Google has brought back call screening in a big way. So let's say you're not sure who's calling, so you let it go to voicemail and screen in. It's your mom from someone else's phone, one button push, and you pick up. If you don't pick up, Google Voice will record the message, and try to transcribe it for you. Honestly, these services are mediocre at best, but normally it does give you a good idea as to what the call is about. My Vonage transcriptions don't do any better.

And of course, once a voice mail has been received, Google Voice will send you a notification to either email accounts, or via SMS, just in case you somehow missed that someone was trying to call you.

You can also slip into "record" mode and record the incoming calls from answering. You can turn the recording on and off by hitting "4" during the call. The recordings are stored in your Google Voice account, and can be replayed easily without any external programs.
You can also call out with Google Voice by entering the number you want to call via the Google Voice web site, and picking which phone you want to call from. Google Voice will call you and connect the call, akin to an old-school operator plugging in wires to complete connections.

I now forward my office phone directly to my Google Voice number, and have three phones set up to ring: My office phone, my cell phone, and my Skype phone. It's worked so well for me that the Vonage phone number is now in jeopardy of being disconnected. If I could transfer my existing phone number to either Google Voice or Skype, it'd be gone.

I also changed all my signatures to include only my Google Voice number. I've found that people will quite often check your last email for your current phone number instead of their own contact manager. So I'll get the word out slowly. But I've simplified my life by being able to control what phone I answer, and NOT have to take all calls on my cell phone. This will definitely reduce my cell phone usage, which could get me into a cheaper calling plan at some point.