Google Voice offers phone functions others should

Google is slowly trying to take over our lives. First it was our computers; now it's our phones.

The company started with Internet searching. Then it offered free e-mail with so much online storage you'd never have to delete anything.

Want to use a free word processor or spreadsheet? No problem - point your browser to Google Docs. And by this time next year, you'll see a Google operating system for your computer.

But this year's big thing from Google is for your phone.

Last year, Google bought GrandCentral, a fledgling Internet telephone company. GrandCentral had some cool phone organization features, but no one was sure it would be around for long.

When Google snatched it up and closed it to new users, we all knew it would be reborn and rebadged.

Enter Google Voice.

So, what is it? It's a service to make and receive phone calls over your Internet connection and telephones. It's also a sophisticated voice mail system. Let's break it down.

Receiving calls

You start out by picking a local phone number, which is yours forever.

Give people your Google number, and, conceivably, that's the only number they'll ever need to reach you. They'll no longer have to guess whether you're at the office, at home or away on your cell.

That's because you can set up Google Voice to forward your calls to any (or all, up to six) of your phones. The forwarding is customizable by contact and even by time of day. You can set it so calls from your family ring through to all phones at once but calls from your friends ring only to your cell phone.

Want to send everyone but immediate family to voicemail after 10 p.m.? No problem.

You can also set it so certain callers don't ring any of your phones. Have a friend who talks your ear off? Set that number to go straight to voice mail.

I also like the options Google offers to handle callers not on your contact list. With one feature on, unknown callers must announce their names. When you get the call, you hear the recorded name. You then have the choice of taking the call or sending it to voicemail. You can also listen in while the caller leaves a message.

Also, you can record any call you receive by pressing "4" at any time during the call. (The recording is announced to keep things legal.)

Want to transfer a call from your home phone to your cell phone? Just press (ASTERISK) and all your Google-registered phones ring, letting you pick up the call on your cell.

Making calls

Calls to U.S. locations (except Alaska and Hawaii) and to Canada are free.

Other international calls cost from 2 cents per minutes to countries such as China and France to 60 cents per minute to Cuba and North Korea. You buy credit through the Google Voice Web site to pay for your calls.

You dial through the Web site and enter which phone you want to use. Google calls you and, when you answer, dials the other party. Apps for Android phones and BlackBerrys will let you make the calls seamlessly. There was an iPhone app, but Apple nixed it, saying it duplicated iPhone functionality.

Text messaging

Text messages to your Google number will forward through to your mobile phone(s). Replies to the senders will appear to be from your Google number, not from your cell phone.

Text messages that route through your Google number are archived on your Google Voice home page.

You can also send text messages from your Google account on any Internet-connected computer.

Voice mail

This is where Google Voice shines. Voice mails are not only recorded; they're saved as sound files and e-mailed to you. Plus, they're archived in your Google Voice home page.

The messages are also transcribed by software, and the resulting text can be e-mailed or sent to your cell phone as a text message. The transcription isn't perfect, but it's pretty good.

You can record personalized greetings for each person or group in your contact list.

You can access your voice mail from any phone by calling your Google number, pressing *(ASTERISK) during the greeting and typing in your Google PIN. You can also get your voice mail from any computer. And you can forward voice mails from your account to any e-mail address or download the voice mails as MP3s to your computer.

I love having this much control over every aspect of my phone service, and I hope other phone carriers will adopt these features. Every aspect of Google Voice just feels solid.

The one big problem I see: having to give everyone your new number. Everyone I know and do business with has my existing phone number.

When I can transfer my existing home number to be my Google number, I'll probably cancel my home phone and not look back.

AT A GLANCE

Pros: Complete control over your phone. Voicemail transcription. Cheap international calls.

Cons: Can't port existing numbers yet. Voicemail transcriptions aren't 100 percent accurate.

Bottom line: In the future, all phones should have this power.

How to get it: Google Voice is in beta testing. If you'd like an account, go to www.google.com/voice and click "Get an invite."

GOOGLE VOICE FEATURES

- Get a local Google phone number - you select the area code.

- Have calls forwarded to up to six numbers - ring any or all of the phones.

- Screen your calls - force unknown people to announce a name.

- Decide whether to take a call or let it go to voicemail.

- Listen in as callers leave voicemail. Break in and take a call if you wish.

- Have voicemails sent to your e-mail, then listen to them or read transcriptions.

- Switch phones during a call. For example, continue a cell call on your home phone.

- Record incoming calls with one touch.

- Send/receive text messages via your computer or your cell phone.

- Make conference calls - add up to four parties.

(c) 2009, The Dallas Morning News.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.