Google Voice First Impressions
After months (literally) of trying to get in I finally got a Google Voice account the other day. It seems like there are mixed results in getting a Google Voice account by request. Some people get it in minutes, others in days and others never get it at all. You can put me in the last group. From time to time I’ve tried requesting an invitation since last March but to no avail. In the end I got one from a Twitter friend.
Putting the difficulties of getting an account aside I have to say it’s a nice service.
When you set up your account you get the choice of getting a new Google Voice phone number or using your current number. I chose to use my current number so I wouldn’t have to notify all my contacts that my number had changed. The are some advantages to using a Google Voice number. For an explanation click here.
The most basic feature of Google Voice is voice mail. Once you’re set up your account Google Voice becomes your voice mail provider. In addition to the usual voice mail features (including a number to call to access your messages from any phone) Google Voice transcribes all incoming messages and will send them to you via text message and/or email (depending on your preferences). Google Voice also provides a web page that gives your voice mail messages the GMail treatment. That’s right, web based voice mail with transcriptions and saved voice messages so you can email messages to anyone you wish.
The only problem I see with the voice mail feature is that the phone interface only allows you to listen to new messages. There’s no way to listen to archived messages. This is a problem for me since sometimes I like to save messages to access later. Yes, I can access them on the web but what if I’m on the road with only my phone? The workaround is to save a message as new after listening to it but then when I call in it will include the message in the new message count. When I call in and it says I have 2 new messages I don’t want an old message included in that count. If my wireless provider gets this feature right then Google Voice must as well.
The web interface has some great features. In addition to letting you forward a voice mail via email it also allows you to add notes on a message, download the message as an MP3 and supplies code to embed the message in a web page.
You can also call someone from the web interface. Simply enter the number you want to call and select which of the phones set up in your Google Voice account you’d like to use and Google Voice will call you and dial the number you want to call after you pick up the phone. This also allows you to take advantage of Google Voice’s international calling rates instead of that of your carrier. For more information click here.
All in all Google Voice is an interesting and useful service that I plan on using for the foreseeable future.
Comments to this post
iPhone Flop in China?
iPhone gets tepid reception in China. Look for cheap clone. Spammer sued for a ton more money that he does not have. Ares rocket chute fails. Twitter gives LIST to everyone. Google complaining about phone bill. I explain. Street view to be improved. Why? Girl sue school over Facebook punishment. Raindrop unified messaging. How about unifying it yourself? Nokia N-Gage is dead.
Episode brought to you by www.squarespace.com use code TECH.
Click to listen: [audio:http://m.podshow.com/media/12115/episodes/195127/tech5-195127-11-02-2009.mp3]
Comments to this post
Moto Heating Up
Moto rebound? The Droid is a killer. Sony brick overheating. Big Screen DSi. The Aino phone coming. Will MSFT-Yahoo deal fall apart? Another Internet birthday? How many are there? People using upgrade of Win7 and tricking machine. MSFT not pleased.
Show brought to you by Thrifty and Dollar Car Rental at http://tech5.thrifty.com. Use the code word TECH5.
Click to listen: [audio:http://m.podshow.com/media/12115/episodes/194631/tech5-194631-10-29-2009.mp3]
Comments to this post
Endless Reboot Endless
Google voice expands capability. I like Google voice. Win 7 mis-priced? Or not? Endless re-boot problem not resolved. New Eclair SDK a tasty treat. iPhone now number two smartphone. Telecom industry wants a bail out? LA has adopted Gmail for 30,000 government workers. IBM doing big stock buyback. Intel says 2010 going to be big.
Show brought to you by squarespace at www.squarespace.com. Use the code word TECH.
Click to listen: [audio:http://m.podshow.com/media/12115/episodes/194091/tech5-194091-10-27-2009.mp3]
Comments to this post
GeoCities R.I.P.
MSFT quits the Family Guy special. Netflix on the PS3 getting promoted more and more. Win7 columns in abundance. Numerous Tributes to the end of GeoCities. NY Times spills beans on Apple tablet. New Storm coming from Blackberry. 100 core chip hooray. New buzzterm appearing: TRIM. I explain. WiMAX in Taiwan. New Ubuntu in three days.
Show brought to you by e-harmony at www.eharmony.com. Use the code word EHTECH.
Click to listen: [audio:http://m.podshow.com/media/12115/episodes/193945/tech5-193945-10-26-2009.mp3]
Comments to this post