Google Voice

[YamiR6]

Hey guys a buddy of mine has an invite for it, My question is I have the 69.99 plan. How would GV play in that plan for my minutes of use? Would I be going over on the "450 lan" lines? I know for users that have my circle it works great but I dont have that so I am not sure as to how it works. Can someone help me out with this?

 

[marriedman624]

Not sure about the minutes thing, but I believe GV is open to all and there is no need for invites anymore.

 

[woofermazing]

As of today its open to all. If you have an android phone, just download the GV app and make and receive all the calls over data. Sprint has some my circle type thing, but only for 1 or 2 numbers i think. I think it counts as a land line, but you can get around that by adding your GV number to that. I would call Sprint and make sure.

 

[tsipa]

Hey guys a buddy of mine has an invite for it, My question is I have the 69.99 plan. How would GV play in that plan for my minutes of use? Would I be going over on the "450 lan" lines? I know for users that have my circle it works great but I dont have that so I am not sure as to how it works. Can someone help me out with this?

I use GV as a voicemail replacement, not sure how it works if you want to make it your actual number.

 

[jgangsta]

and if you have a problem loading google voice from market use this 1.

Google Docs -- clik me

 

[Highland Ranger]

I wrote a post on this somewhere.

Basically the Android GV app allows you to make calls using your GV number. It does this by dialing into another number which dials out to whatever number you are calling.

That number it dials usually stays the same (or has for me) and needs to be included in your friends and family plan on Verizon or the equivalent for other carriers in order for the call to be free.

You can also text from your GV number for free, but it may incur charges on the other side depending on your carrier.

Nice thing about GV is one number that reaches you anywhere.

Downside is occasionally you get some latency that effects voice quality. Not horrible or unusable but occasionally noticeable.

If you use GV voicemail to replace your carriers voice mail box, it also has transcription which is ok, depending on the caller. If they aren't speaking the queens english, there can be some (pretty funny) issues.

 

[slow4g63]

I've been using google voice for about a year now and LOVE IT, especially because it has the ability to look at your google contacts and let you know who it's from.

what's cool too is with the GV app you can look at your messages/listen to them and delete them right there... so now there's no need to use the google voice texting feature!

 

[eric3316]

I use google voice to listen to the my VM messages through the app. The transcription of the messages are terrible. Can usually never make out what it is suppose to read. If the transcription was better, it would save me the time of actually playing them altogether.

 

[danwlee]

Hey guys a buddy of mine has an invite for it, My question is I have the 69.99 plan. How would GV play in that plan for my minutes of use? Would I be going over on the "450 lan" lines? I know for users that have my circle it works great but I dont have that so I am not sure as to how it works. Can someone help me out with this?

Haven't seen an actual answer to your question yet, so I thought i'd chime in.

You're 69.99 plan is only good for mobile to mobile calling without eating up your minutes. The number you get from Google is considered a land line (do a reverse number look-up to verify your number), so your 450 minutes will be eaten up whether you call to another land/cell line or you receive a call on your google voice number from a land/cell line.

 

[Dave DFW]

I'm nut sure Sprint customers on Evo type plans will benefit as much as calling circle type users in other plans. I use GV for internetional calls - very cheap and I now have a plan I can use from any phone, not just home or cell.

It's good as a second number in case you want to eventually change carriers. Also good for sales calls. You can just switch the number 'off' for a while until the get fed up calling instead of your real voicemail filling up.

Google also recently bought Gizmo5, so I will be interested to see what they do with true voip, especially with the unlimited Evo plans.

 

[scott314]

I'll chime in as well since I am on the EVO 450 minute plan and am using GV for all of my calls.

First off, here are the 2 calling scenarios you care about in terms of how plan minutes are used:

Making outgoing calls through GV App (DL that from the Android Market):
Every call you make goes through a GV gateway. If you look at the detailed usage on your bill you will see that every outgoing call shows up as going to the same number; this is the GV gateway number you have been assigned. This gateway number is considered a landline and minutes will come out of your anytime pool regardless of what number you are actually trying to call.

Receiving incoming calls through your GV number:
GV can be configured to display the actual caller-id of the originating number or to always show your GV number. If you set it up (through the GV website) to show the actual caller-id then that is the number that Sprint will use to determine if the incoming call is a landline or mobile number.

What this means to you:
Based on the scenario above you will use your Anytime minute pool for ALL outgoing calls, regardless of whether the destination number is mobile or not. You will also use minutes if you are called by a landline number between 7AM and 7PM Monday-Friday. Incoming mobile numbers will always count as unlimited mobile to mobile as long as you set up GV to display the actual caller ID.

But wait, there's more....
You can call up a Sprint CS rep and have them add "Sprint to home" to your plan for an additional $5/month. This allows you free, unlimited, calling to and from 1 number each month. You will want to set this number up to be your GV GATEWAY (*not your GV number*). If you do this then outgoing calls, regardless of the destination number, will be free.

In conclusion:
Using GV to make and receive all of my calls, with Sprint to Home added to my plan, the only scenario in which I use minutes out of my 450 minute pool is when someone calls me from a landline between 7AM and 7PM Monday - Friday. So far this month I have use a whopping 18 minutes out of 450. Not bad considering this is my only phone line.

 

[stainlessray]

I've seen threads elsewhere including ones from people using either gizmo or skype to make calls circumventing minutes replaced by data. gizmo was free but presently unavailable. i'm assuming when it returns as a part of google, there will no longer be a free option. skype, right now has limited devices for its app, EVO supposed to be ready "sometime this year". i'm pretty sure the intent all the way around will be to close the loophole in minutes use, or otherwise for the parties facillitating the circumvention to instead charge their own fees. as with anything, someone will hack the system, or play the fiddle to avoid paying the fiddler, but those methods are usually too much of a PIA for me to bother with. what with the need to respond every time a carrier on one end or other changes things to compensate. cat and mouse stuff gets old ...
Let's not forget though, that carriers are becoming very concerned with the growth in data usage overall, and some are implementing tiered data plans, all of them are considering changing the data rate structure. the more and more people shift their talk time to data, the more they will compensate by increasing the cost of that, any savings derived from the method are going to be short lived.
I'm dropping my landline to offset the higher mobile rate costs, and purchased an online number and unlimited use plan from skype, coupled with a GV number for consolidated voicemail hoping for a net savings overall when an app for skype is available for my mobile in the near future. no free lunch, but i can eat off the dollar menu

 

[lloydcabraham]

There's an app called GVoice callback that works around Google Voice using your minutes. Been using it frequently and it works great.

 

[stainlessray]

I've seen threads elsewhere including ones from people using either gizmo or skype to make calls circumventing minutes replaced by data. gizmo was free but presently unavailable. i'm assuming when it returns as a part of google, there will no longer be a free option. skype, right now has limited devices for its app, EVO supposed to be ready "sometime this year". i'm pretty sure the intent all the way around will be to close the loophole in minutes use, or otherwise for the parties facillitating the circumvention to instead charge their own fees. as with anything, someone will hack the system, or play the fiddle to avoid paying the fiddler, but those methods are usually too much of a PIA for me to bother with. what with the need to respond every time a carrier on one end or other changes things to compensate. cat and mouse stuff gets old ...
Let's not forget though, that carriers are becoming very concerned with the growth in data usage overall, and some are implementing tiered data plans, all of them are considering changing the data rate structure. the more and more people shift their talk time to data, the more they will compensate by increasing the cost of that, any savings derived from the method are going to be short lived.
I'm dropping my landline to offset the higher mobile rate costs, and purchased an online number and unlimited use plan from skype, coupled with a GV number for consolidated voicemail hoping for a net savings overall when an app for skype is available for my mobile in the near future. no free lunch, but i can eat off the dollar menu

 

[Tre Lawrence]

There's an app called GVoice callback that works around Google Voice using your minutes. Been using it frequently and it works great.

Yep... this, along with the aforementioned Sprint@home, allows for free outgoing and incoming calls.

 

[YamiR6]

Thank you very much guys. Took a while before someone actually answered my question but helped me figure it out thats for sure.

 

[r3dDaWn]

Just one note to add to this, to those that add the Gateway number to whatever Sprint plan was talked about, that number WILL change at some point, it won't stay the same forever. You can go to Google's forum site to notice the talk about that. Google can/does change gateway numbers when it deems it necessary or when needed, so though your gw number may be the same and has been for a while, at some point it will change. Just an FYI..

 

[gx1400]

Does anyone have their Evo linked to GV's voicemail?

I tried to set up conditional call forwarding through Google Voice's website, it told me to dial *74<GV Phone #>. This doesn't seem to have worked. I love visual voicemail (I'm coming from the classic "dial and wait" voicemail with US Cellular) but it would be nice to have the free transcription so I don't have to listen to it when its not convienent.

 

[jamesdean]

Just one note to add to this, to those that add the Gateway number to whatever Sprint plan was talked about, that number WILL change at some point, it won't stay the same forever. You can go to Google's forum site to notice the talk about that. Google can/does change gateway numbers when it deems it necessary or when needed, so though your gw number may be the same and has been for a while, at some point it will change. Just an FYI..

There is a great paid app called Flex Dialer Pro that will allow you to make and receive calls through your GV number without the need for the gateway access. It has include/exclude lists for which contacts you want to go through GV.

 

[jamesdean]

As of today its open to all. If you have an android phone, just download the GV app and make and receive all the calls over data. Sprint has some my circle type thing, but only for 1 or 2 numbers i think. I think it counts as a land line, but you can get around that by adding your GV number to that. I would call Sprint and make sure.

The official GV app does not place or receive calls over the data network. It does use the data network to process the call but without a Sprint to Home addition you will use plan minutes using the offical GV app.

 

[ldnikon]

So I have gone over to Google Voice, and I am currently using it for all my messaging and calls and voicemail. What I would like to know is if there is any way to have the Icon update, like the built in message app icon, when you have new messages (SMS and Voicemail) and even if you miss calls and stuff. Also, is there a way to do that with the Gmail App? Have the Icon update and change like the message app when I have unread messages? If anyone knows and could help me out with this, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[Wifi-Naught Odin]

any way to have the Icon update, like the built in message app icon, when you have new messages (SMS and Voicemail) and even if you miss calls and stuff.

Google voice already puts an icon in the the upper left of the status bar on the evo every time you have a missed call or unread text.

Also, is there a way to do that with the Gmail App? Have the Icon update and change like the message app when I have unread messages? If anyone knows and could help me out with this, I'd really appreciate it.

Yes there is. There's a free widget called 'Gmail Unread Count'. Works great!

'Gmail Unread Count'
http://androidapplications.com/526-gmail-unread-count

 

[trife]

I'll chime in as well since I am on the EVO 450 minute plan and am using GV for all of my calls.

First off, here are the 2 calling scenarios you care about in terms of how plan minutes are used:

there is another option which im currently using.

Add your GOOGLE number to @home
get the app GV call free this will make every outgoing call automatically 'call back' so that sprint just see's your gv number

then for incoming calls set gv from the site to display your gv number and bam unlimited in and outgoing calls. the gv call free app if you buy it will even allow you to set certain contacts so that it uses your gv number. so if mom is the only one with a landline you know, then you set it so when you call her it does a call back, but for everyone else it dials straight in.

I haven't bought the app but if it uses gv on call in for contacts you list then that'd be great. I could turn off the use gv number on incoming calls to see caller ID. haven't bought it yet.