Google Voice for All
I’ve been a big fan of Google Voice since… Well, since before it was even Google Voice.
In fact, I’ve been using it since it was first launched as GrandCentral.
If you’re not familiar with Google Voice, it simply gives you a (new) phone number (for free), and let’s you forward it to another phone (or, phones).
Why is that so cool?
Here’s where the magic begins… You can have a separate number for your business, for example, and have it ring both your home and cell numbers. If nobody answers either, the caller will go to a separate (Google Voice) voicemail, which you can customize for your business.
And I’m just beginning to scratch the surface. You can set Google Voice to not ring certain phones at certain times, have it screen your calls… Oh, and you can have it email you a transcript of missed calls.
There’s even an awesome app for your phone, which lets you fetch, and organize your Google Voice messages, and even place outgoing calls on your Google Voice account.
And I’m just starting. You need to check-out Google Voice for yourself.
This fascinating (and extremely useful) service first appeared as GrandCentral back in 2005, and was acquired by Google in 2007. Google eventually re-launched it as Google Voice in March of 2009.
A lot’s changed over the years, but one constant remained – It was always a closed beta test. That is, you had no way to sign-up unless an existing user sent you an invitation.
Until now.
Google just opened-up Google Voice for all, so check-out the introductory video (below), or head straight over to Google to create your own account now.
