lol, I am in the same boat as you as far as not knowing exactly what it does and if I even need it.

I'd love to know, and get an invite if someone has one to spare (after I figure out if I truly need it of course).

 

I use it for my business. Used to have a completely separate cell phone so my business could have it's own number. But now I just use GV and have it forward to my personal cell. The GV app let's me choose which I'm using to call out from (personal or GV #) so I don't give my personal number out to customers.

The call blocking is one of the best things. GV treats calls just like email. Telemarketer keep calling you? Put them on your block list and they won't ever get through again. Used to have to deal with the carrier to get that done and it was a huge hassle.

I've also just started giving out my GV number to people instead of my personal number too. It's great for filling out forms where you're required to give a phone number (call blocking means you can't get spammed with calls anymore). You can also customize what voicemail greeting different people in your Contacts list receive. My friends & family get my personal greeting when they call my GV number. Anyone else gets my business voicemail.

The SMS doesn't integrate well with the Android phones yet, so I still use my personal number for that. Google is working on integrating it better from what I've read, though, so looking forward to it.

 

Sounds like it'd be great for bill collectors. lol!

Only thing is, I'd need to change my # with them first, to the google #? Or does it somehow sync with your regular #?

 

That's exactly what I do. It let me drop the second line completely and saves me money!

No need to change numbers. Google Voice actually requires a number to forward to since it itself is not a phone service (yet). And you can have it forwarding to as many numbers as you want. Even have specific people forwarded to specific numbers. It's very customizable.

 

K-Rizzle: Someone calls your GV # it then forwards to the phone(s) you have told it to. So yes you do have to give out the google voice number to the people you want to call it. Once it gets forwarded you can do cool things like screening (listening as they leave a voicemail, with the option to answer). All the voicemails are recorded and transcribed (I get the transcription texted to me). You can call and listen to them, download them, listen to them from a browser, email them etc etc.

I use it like pdragon does for my home business. It's nice because I can create custom greetings for family and friends so they don't have to hear my business message when they call. I have a custom message just for my wife even. It's also nice being able to have an archive of text messages and voicemails. One big productivity feature for me is being able to text from the web page, it's faster then picking up the phone and pecking out a reply.

I also have my sprint number forwarded to Google Voice as well so people who still call that will get my custom greetings etc. If you have an invite make sure you pick the option to get google voice WITH A NUMBER, it gives you a lot more options then doing just the voicemail replacement option.

On a side note I am not a big fan of the Google Voice application for Android, personally I think the third party app gDial Pro on the Palm Pre walked all over it.

 

I have not used GV yet for its intended purpose, but I do use it as my voicemail service. Instead of having to use Sprints service, I get the transcribed voicemails emailed to me, or I can use the Google Voice app on my phone. The best part of Google Voice is choosing the phone number, I'll just say that my number has the word nipple in it. Thank you.

 

I moved right before signing up for Grand Central (the name of the service before Google bought it and made it Voice), so I use my GV number as my "local" number, and allowed me to keep my cell number the same as it was. I really didn't have any intention of changing my mobile number, but the apartment building I moved in to had one of those dial boxes, and they only allowed local numbers. I also then give my GV number anywhere I give my local address. I have it set to ring my office or cell during the day, and just my cell after 5. It's been a lifesaver - no need for Vonage or a dedicated line locally while still getting a local number.

 

No thank you, that's epic

 

I have been using google voice (GV) for 3 weeks now. It has it's pluses and minuses. There are two options when setting up your GV accont. You can 1) use your existing cell phone number or 2) pick a new GV number. To be able to use all the features of GV you are going to have to go with option 2.

Here is a link to compare the two options:
Using a Google number vs. a non-Google number : Basics - Google Voice Help

Things you need to know:
1) currently GV does not support mms. If you don't do video or pic txting this isn't an issue then.
2) you do not get sms (txt) notifications when the screen is off. (GV does not currently use push for their sms notification system. They are working on migrating over to a push notification system but I don't know when that will be)

Those are the two major issues that I have come across. I was getting sms notifications on every txt message I sent but after updating to the newest version of GV that issue has seemed to of gone away.

Unless you tell the default sms program (messages) to not notify you you will get double notifications for sms messages. This really isn't annoying as long as you don't mind having multiple icons in the status bar plus the battery issue with that program I believe has been fixed. Though I would prob recommend not disabling the notifications that way you will be able to get notifications while the screen is off.

I am not sure how Sprint views GV calls (landline or mobile). This becomes important if you have an unlimited calling to any mobile number plan being that your mins to landlines are limited. One user told me that Sprint treats GV calls as mobile calls so they shouldn't go against your landline mins, though I am waiting to hear back from him to confirm this. You might want to call sprint yourself to confirm this independently (if you do please let me know what they say)

I can't report any problems making or receiving calls/txt messages. I haven't quite figured out how to get the pics to show up in the call screen. Right now my contacts pull their pics from either facebook or gmail but I am getting the stock green android on the calling screen.

I was able to make an international call successfully to South America. Though txting the same number did not go through. International txting is not officially support so it is hit or miss as to whether or not it works.

GV integrates nicely into the phone. I have it set as the default program for calling and txting so it launches for both of those activities by it self.

if you have any other questions let me know.

 

Oh yeah, the transcribed voice mails are really cool. I get them as a voice mail, email, and txt. Pretty neat to be able to get them in three different forms. Though the transcribing isn't always perfect.

 

Yes you can remove it from the phone if you don't like the app. If you don't like the service you can just tell people to stop calling the number (or stop forwarding to it if you are using it that way).

It's one central voicemail box but different callers and/or groups of callers can hear different messages. You can send certain callers straight to voice mail if you like (only if you are using a google voice number though). Lots of different options, best to play around with.

 

I can really use this to separate my personal and business calls....does anyone have an invite to spare? PM me please...

 

Love GV personally, it's so customizable. I only hope it never gets pulled, I give everyone my GV# nowadays

 

I like it mainly because it transcribes vm's into a text message. For me I give it out to mainly businesses.

A nice feature to use is to have it as your regular vmailbox. Meaning, whichever number I get a call on( Google Voice, or personal #) the vm's get directed to the Google Voice mailbox which then transcribes it into a text.

At least for me thats how I use it. There are many more features but for now that's all I do with it. A friend uses it as a business line and they love it.

 

I wanted it so I could just get voicemails as a text message. I would use it a lot more if they could get the transcribed messages a little bit closer. The poorly transcribed messages are the "killer" for me.

 

Sprint views these as voice calls. I checked my usage this morning and noted the minutes used. I then made 3 calls to three different numbers using Google Voice. I re-checked my usage an hour later and the three calls showed up and "shared" minutes were used.

The good news about this is that I have the Pick3 option and will now call Sprint to have them add this particular number to the Pick3 thus giving me unlimited outgoing calls on my Hero!

Note that when you use GV you are not using your cell number or even your GV number but some obscure phone number generated by GV, the number is the same no matter what number you actually call. You can see this number on your screen when you initiate the call and you can confirm it on Sprints website under 'usage'. My GV number was displayed on the caller ID and not the obscure number which is very cool.

All in all I'm pleased with it. There is a tiny bit of voice delay that I notice bnut certainly not a deal breaker.

 

Actually, my experience with GV bears out that Sprint treats the call as a landline, meaning GV calls count against your minutes. This is the reason I am not using it more, even though it has very cool features. I have the 450 minute all everything plan, and with Sprints unlimited mobile to mobie I would be losing out if I use the GV number. If Sprint changes their policy and counts it as a mobile call, then I will use it a lot more.

On a side note though, International calling works great on it.

 

I don't have Android yet, but am looking forward to having a native Google Voice app (I have Windows Mobile now). I was hoping Android phones would let me initiate a text message from my contacts and have it sent via my Google Number. Are you saying this is not possible?

For now, I have tried to save the 406 numbers Google assigns to my contacts so that if I have to send a message (not reply to one), I send it to the 406 number and to the recipient, it looks like it is coming from my Google Number.

 

I am curious to know how you were entering numbers when placing phone calls while using GV. My understanding is that in order for the GV service to be used you must enter a 10 digit phone number i.e the area code must be included when dialing. I did some testing and found that when I dialed using only 7 digits my Sprint number was used but when I used the 10 digits my GV number was used.

 

Yes you can delete the app; GV is just like any other app you install on your phone. If you want to delete it just go to menu, settings, applications, manage apps, google voice, uninstall.

You will want to prob log into the web interface and then unregister your mobile phone number then.

As for the voicemail boxes, you do have the ability to personalize the voicemail message on a per person basis (which I think is really cool) I am not sure if you can do this on a per group basis or not, maybe kennyinidaho can speak to that.

If you get charged to check your voicemail from your mobile phone then getting these as emails or txt messages is really nice.

 

Yes, if you have groups setup in Google Voice (via the website), you can specify a particular voicemail greeting for the entire group. Great to distinguish between family / friends and coworkers.

Examples of greetings based on groups:

Family / Friends = "I'm having a great time playing hookey from work today! I'm having too much fun to answer the phone now, leave me a message"

Coworkers = "<<cough>> this swine flu has really knocked me off my feet, leave a message and I'll get back with you"


Edit: I should mention there have been some reports of problems with custom greetings, so just keep that in mind. Of course, the better thing would be to not skip work, but I digress....