Who's using Google Voice?

[Tre Lawrence]

No, not me. Do you agree with my analysis?

Yep... sorry for the mix up. I agree with what you wrote.

I use GV heavily, which is why I am really into ensuring it helps me maximize minutes.

I use a combination of Sprint @Home and GVCallback for calling.

 

[shandroid]

It will dial out because it's not using data for voice. It's not actually VOIP (Voice Over Internet Provider).

Um yeah that was my point

 

[jamesdean]

Um yeah that was my point

The official GV application will not dial out without a data connection. Although the call is not a VOIP call a data connection is required to initiate call. The data side is used for the app to send the data for your call to the server at which point it completes the call through the PSTN network.

There are a number of other apps that will work with GV and not require a data connection.

 

[Droid_Genius]

Yea I love Google voice and as far as pics I email them cause mms is just a watered down version

 

[archercc]

I use it as my "land line." Actual friends get the direct line and everyone else gets the google voice number.

I have Google Voice but don't use it because the call quality is horrible. It sounds worse than my Magic Jack (which I expect to suck).

Really? Ive been calling on it all of the time and people say they cant tell.

 

[gowcaizer1978]

Google voice is great, its my second phone line.

 

[vgsantiago]

I use GV as my business # and it works great. All my employees have GV #s on their company EVOs and I have heard very little complaining. I definitely recommend using it!

Company EVOs? man do you have any available positions

 

[Kelita]

I've been covering phones for my mobile home park while the managers are on vacation and use GV. I've been embarrassed a few times as the call recording will start randomly and have to explain I'm having phone problems. Supposedly Google knows about this issue but until it's resolved, I won't be using it as my main # for when I'm on phone coverage.

 

[thetruth24]

good info

 

[drdawg]

I use it exclusively for the transcribed voicemails, and the custom individual recording. Also because I am in the middle of getting ready to move to another state my GV number has a TN area code for job calls, while my phone is still and always will be my WI area code.

The transcribed VM sucks! they get names wrong, words wrong, and numbers wrong!

 

[kencrudup]

The transcribed VM sucks! they get names wrong, words wrong, and numbers wrong!

It'll get better over time, and it's close enough for me to get the gist of what's being said. Besides, you can hit the "Play" button from any GV application or browser and hear the entire VM anywhere.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

It'll get better over time, and it's close enough for me to get the gist of what's being said. Besides, you can hit the "Play" button from any GV application or browser and hear the entire VM anywhere.

No, it won't. I have had a few readable/understandable transcriptions out of literally a couple thousand. You can listen to the voicemail, but that defeats the whole idea of the transcription.

Also, lately I have been having a lot of problems placing Google voice calls, there are certain numbers that flat out won't go through.

 

[kencrudup]

You can listen to the voicemail, but that defeats the whole idea of the transcription.

I disagree; I agree the transcriptions aren't/can't be perfect, but they tell me enough to determine if the call is "return immediately" or "return when I feel like it."

But it does get better over time if that caller calls you often; the ones from my GF are far more accurate than they used to be.

Also, lately I have been having a lot of problems placing Google voice calls, there are certain numbers that flat out won't go through.

Well, I finally bit the bullet and switched GV on my EVO to "Use GV to make all calls" about two months ago, and it's been working just fine for me. Is your 3G/WiFi connection OK at the time? GV, IIRC requires a working data connection to place outbound calls (even though it does it over the voice network).

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

I disagree; I agree the transcriptions aren't/can't be perfect, but they tell me enough to determine if the call is "return immediately" or "return when I feel like it."

But it does get better over time if that caller calls you often; the ones from my GF are far more accurate than they used to be.


Well, I finally bit the bullet and switched GV on my EVO to "Use GV to make all calls" about two months ago, and it's been working just fine for me. Is your 3G/WiFi connection OK at the time? GV, IIRC requires a working data connection to place outbound calls (even though it does it over the voice network).

My wife and business partner both call multiple times a day and it still can't get the transcripts right. Here are a couple of examples:

"Hi. I was just calling to say how it's always on, or anything or not passing. Clinton Jack over watch the kids turn it around it over to the bar and Very gimme a call back."

"Hey real quick to find out if you you're sending out so if you're sending a large extra large or a media Mark best. Piper for a larger extra large but whatever, do need to know that and then I need a cases email address. So I can send these little paco to go with it. So call me back let me know."

That is how 99.999% of my transcripts come in, the only time they are even close to correct is if it is a quick "give me a call back" or some other very short message.

As far as the call issues, I will have that problem no matter my location, cell or data signal strength, 3G, 4G or WiFi. I have in fact had a history of call issues, which generally turn out to be short lived, but some are persistent, taking months to go away. One of my personal favorites was the "this call can not be completed at this time" or "this is not a working number" which I found out when driving down the road and using bluetooth one day and was unable to terminate the call right away that it would go ahead and ring through if you waited about 3-5 seconds after the message!

If I had not jumped out and changed all my business cards, web listings, bank info, etc., etc. to my Google Voice number I would drop it in a heart beat, I don't want to have to go through that again, unless the problems get unbearable.

 

[jamesdean]

If anyone remembers the goog-411 free directory assistance, that was Google's way of building/perfecting their voice to text engine. Last year they stopped the goog-411 service assuming they had completed that process. I suggest they should have kept building/perfecting.

My transcriptions have never been accurate but often enough to determine what the caller's intrent was.

 

[vgsantiago]

Also, lately I have been having a lot of problems placing Google voice calls, there are certain numbers that flat out won't go through.

I use GV exclusively and on occasion I've had the same problem. I'll switch from GV making all calls to the voice network and it'll go through. It doesn't happen often enough for me personally to totally switch but it does happen.

When the Sprint/GV marriage is outta beta I'm hoping to switch my GV phone# to be my permanent Sprint# and along with that hoping it allows me to switch from making all calls through GV to the voice network. The voice network in my opinion does work better but maybe things will improve with GV.

 

[archercc]

No, it won't. I have had a few readable/understandable transcriptions out of literally a couple thousand. You can listen to the voicemail, but that defeats the whole idea of the transcription.

Also, lately I have been having a lot of problems placing Google voice calls, there are certain numbers that flat out won't go through.

My experience has been the opposite. Its probably 80% successful. It might miss a word or two here and there but for most messages it its easily enough to tell what the voice mail was about. And if you listen to the voice mail half the time the part that GV missed I could barely understand.

The only time it struggles it appears is when people are on speaker phones, for obvious reasons.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

My experience has been the opposite. Its probably 80% successful. It might miss a word or two here and there but for most messages it its easily enough to tell what the voice mail was about. And if you listen to the voice mail half the time the part that GV missed I could barely understand.

The only time it struggles it appears is when people are on speaker phones, for obvious reasons.

I wish that were the case for me, the message will come across fine if I can get it to work, I can't always get audio on my GV messages and have to download them from Gmail to play them. And they will be perfectly understandable but the transcript will be garbage.

 

[KENNECTED]

Google voice is great, its my second phone line.

Mine as well. I use it for people I don't know and for websites/forums/or company's I like their products.

This way if I receieve too many calls/text messages i can always block them. When I'm out at a bar or club and meet someone I give them that number in case they are a flake.

My favorite feature is that I can text a person right from my PC instead of trying to text from my device.

The transcribed VM sucks! they get names wrong, words wrong, and numbers wrong!

I disagree; I agree the transcriptions aren't/can't be perfect, but they tell me enough to determine if the call is "return immediately" or "return when I feel like it."

But it does get better over time if that caller calls you often; the ones from my GF are far more accurate than they used to be.


Well, I finally bit the bullet and switched GV on my EVO to "Use GV to make all calls" about two months ago, and it's been working just fine for me. Is your 3G/WiFi connection OK at the time? GV, IIRC requires a working data connection to place outbound calls (even though it does it over the voice network).

I wish that were the case for me, the message will come across fine if I can get it to work, I can't always get audio on my GV messages and have to download them from Gmail to play them. And they will be perfectly understandable but the transcript will be garbage.

I rarely have problems with the transcriptions. However, I think we're all forgetting one thing. The caller. If the caller doesn't enunciate or speak loud enough sometimes words are wrong. Or if the caller speaks to fast, words may be transcribed wrong. In addition, regional dialects and "slang" or trendy/pop culture words and/or phrase may not be immediately recognizable. How do you blame those things on GV??

If a person calls you and they slur their words, stutter, say "huh" or ramble, or just don't speak clear, how is that GV fault?

I wish they would introduce MMS feature then it would truly be an awesome service.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

I rarely have problems with the transcriptions. However, I think we're all forgetting one thing. The caller. If the caller doesn't enunciate or speak loud enough sometimes words are wrong. Or if the caller speaks to fast, words may be transcribed wrong. In addition, regional dialects and "slang" or trendy/pop culture words and/or phrase may not be immediately recognizable. How do you blame those things on GV??

If a person calls you and they slur their words, stutter, say "huh" or ramble, or just don't speak clear, how is that GV fault?

I wish they would introduce MMS feature then it would truly be an awesome service.

You're missing my point, the caller can speak CLEARLY and the transcript is still garbage. This is not a perfect system, just like the phones themselves, may work great for one person and be a horrible experience for the next.

Plus, I seem to experience a lot of other problems with GV, the latest being I constantly get busy signals when using GV but the call will go through perfectly using Sprint, and I am back to it taking 10 seconds or more after hitting send before the call will even execute if it does at all when using GV, Sprint has no problems.

I have deactivated, removed, replaced, reactivated countless times and nothing corrects the problems, so yes, I would call this a Google Voice problem.

 

[KENNECTED]

You're missing my point, the caller can speak CLEARLY and the transcript is still garbage. This is not a perfect system, just like the phones themselves, may work great for one person and be a horrible experience for the next.

Plus, I seem to experience a lot of other problems with GV, the latest being I constantly get busy signals when using GV but the call will go through perfectly using Sprint, and I am back to it taking 10 seconds or more after hitting send before the call will even execute if it does at all when using GV, Sprint has no problems.

I have deactivated, removed, replaced, reactivated countless times and nothing corrects the problems, so yes, I would call this a Google Voice problem.

Well I haven't experienced that other issues or busy signals.

Just a thought, could there be a problem with your number that is causing these issues?

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

Well I haven't experienced that other issues or busy signals.

Just a thought, could there be a problem with your number that is causing these issues?

I think it is just a case of what works here doesn't work there. When I worked in the computer industry we could build ten identical systems and at least three would not function like the others. All the parts would test ok, but the combination would not work.

 

[KENNECTED]

I think it is just a case of what works here doesn't work there. When I worked in the computer industry we could build ten identical systems and at least three would not function like the others. All the parts would test ok, but the combination would not work.

Strange....very strange Hopefully, things will straighten themselves out.

 

[Tre Lawrence]

I am a HUGE GV fan, but the one thing that could be better, for me, is the transcription.

 

[decalex]

Gotta say, I've been using GV as my "main" number (the only one I give out), actually since the Grandcentral days. Sure, it's got plenty of room for improvement. I also use the GV Callback / Sprint-to-Home dealy. But within the past 6 months, I haven't even thought about clarity while on a call-- has been all good. I wouldn't think that would be location specific, since the routing numbers are never closeby (to socal).

As far as transcriptions, it seems that gv has an easier time understanding my friends than people speaking "clearly". So I'll get the occasional lewd message from, say, my Mom... 90% of the time though, I'm comfortable saying, "I got your message" without listening to it.

I'm really hoping that this Sprint/Google Voice alliance doesn't mess with the sprint-to-home thing.