IP-192.com was one of several readers to note that Google Voice users can now utilize their existing mobile phone number for collecting voice messages instead of applying for a Google Voice number. From the post at the Google Voice blog: "Up until now, if you wanted to use Google Voice, you needed to choose a new number. Taking calls through your Google number allows us to offer features like call recording, call screening and getting text messages via email." Not all features (like conference calling) are available to those bringing their own number, but voice messages by email is my favorite feature.
As of now we only officially support the following carriers listed on our site (Alltel, AT&T, Cricket Wireless, MetroPCS, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, and Verizon). We are working on extending the support to more carriers soon.
Internet, just like UFO and Elvis sightings - only available in America.
And that's why Google is penniless and in danger of vanishing at any second. My god, their stock is down to $549/share today and....wait, what?
Seriously, there's a little more to it than just watching Goog from a distance and copying them when you have a chance. Could some unknown startup in Estonia come out of nowhere and take Google's spot? I guess anything's possible, but I'm not about to hold my breath waiting. Even if they do, Google can still make a buck or two off the American market, where they'
So, Google can now be set to be the termination point for your voicemails for your mobile, that is, you configure your mobile phone to call their voicemail gateway instead of your providers. Spiffy, though visual voicemail on the iPhone is a tad better interface, at least until there is another google voice app for the iPhone...
I gotta say that Google Voice is way better than the iPhone's visual vmail. They're really different things: google transcribes your voice mail and SMS or emails them to you (among lots of other things). Visual vmail just shows you who called you without having to dial in.
I have had Google Voice for about a year, and an visual voice mail for two, and I don't know that I'd say one is necessarily 'better' than the other because, as you point out, they are two different things. Like asking if a hamburger is better than a fishing pole.
I use visual voice mail most all the time, and only read GV's voice-to-text when I'm somewhere I don't have a cell signal. But it is nice to have both.
The Google Voice app for Android does everything visual voicemail does, AFAIK. You can see all your messages, with transcripts and audio recordings, without dialing in.
I shot a gay that oogled Morice. Is may better than iTone visual female? Bear real lee different tings. Google transcribes you're choice tail and sms or ails him to shoe (a mung lo savanna swings). Usual gmail trusts ows ewe who call dew without having to smile him.
by Anonymous Coward
on Tuesday October 27, @12:15PM (#29885827)
Now google allows you to do what the government has been doing for you for the past 5 years! Now your government mobile history is inextricably tied to your online activity!
I would have been all over this but for the fact that my Blackberry Tour now has Visual Voicemail much like many Blackberries these days as well as the iPhone.
Does anyone with an iPhone or visual voicemail-enabled phone see value in this? I like the transcription feature but it's not a game changer.
Well, it is free, so it doesn't need much in the way of value to justify getting it.
I use it when I am somewhere I can't get a cell signal on my iphone, or where I get the 'visual voicemail is not available' message. Wading through ATT's prompt based voice mail menu system is not something I have the patience for any longer. So I read the GV messages via wifi or the like.
It's not just visual voicemail (with automatic transciptions - read your voicemail if you want/need to be quiet) - that's just one feature.
The main feature of Google Voice, IMO, is that your Google Voice number is really YOUR number, not the number of a particular location/device. Via the web you can program what phone(s) - zero or more - ring when someone calls your GV number and you can pick up the call on any device. If you like all your calls can go direct to voicemail and you'll then pick them up either by phone or on the web.
The use of this is that you don't need to notify anyone if you go on vactation, change job, lose your cell phone, or whatever - they always call you at your GV number, and you choose where to pick the call up (maybe just at an internet cafe via the visual voicemail).
So, you don't get all the features if you port in an existing number. How... lame. Completely killed my interest in this most recent development.
There's really no point to this new option -- it's just a stripped down 'lite' version of the existing service aimed at drawing in people who were scared off by the "you'll have to change your phone number" nonsense. There's absolutely no reason to choose this option when you sign up. If all you want are the voicemail features, sign up for a "full" account (with a new number), then add your existing phone and switch on voicemail handling. That's it.
Actually, this new option is even worse: once you set it u
There's really no point to this new option -- it's just a stripped down 'lite' version of the existing service aimed at drawing in people who were scared off by the "you'll have to change your phone number" nonsense. There's absolutely no reason to choose this option when you sign up. If all you want are the voicemail features, sign up for a "full" account (with a new number), then add your existing phone and switch on voicemail handling. That's it.
It would be stupid to sign up for the "lite" version of this instead of the full version. But being able to forward my existing cell phone # to use google voice for voicemail is huge to me. I no longer have to wade through Verizon's crappy voicemail system (Which has no way of deleting all new messages - I get a ton of spam messages).
Actually, this new option is even worse: once you set it up, you can't go back to your carrier's voicemail system. You're stuck with Google's whether you like it or not.
Maybe it's not enabled for all carriers, but I've got an option on my settings page to revert back to using Verizon's voicemail if I like.
"Actually, this new option is even worse: once you set it up, you can't go back to your carrier's voicemail system. You're stuck with Google's whether you like it or not."
Umm, you can revert your forwarding back to your carrier's voicemail. They'll even tell you how.
Actually, there is no "port" involved here, really. This is essentially just setting up your carrier to forward calls on no-answer/busy to your google voicemail.
So, you don't get all the features if you port in an existing number. How... lame. Completely killed my interest in this most recent development.
You're missing something. I already have a GV account. If you call my special GV number, I get the full feature list. Now I get that, PLUS I can click to add the "Lite" version to my actual cell number.
That means that if you call my cell directly, I can still send you to GV voicemail, with the "Lite" feature set.
As they say:
If you already have a Google number, this new feature should also help with the transition to your new number, as you can now forward unanswered calls to your mobile phone to your Google Voice account. This way, people who still call your old number will reach the same voicemail as people who call your Google Voice number. If you already use Google Voice, you can add Google voicemail to any mobile phone you've linked to your account.
I was pretty excited when I saw this, but then with a little more digging it looks like if you're on Sprint, you'll get a minimum 20 cent charge per voicemail (20 cents per minute call forwarding [sprintpcs.com]). Some people are saying Sprint has or is about to do away with this fee, but I haven't seen anything definite.
If I'm mistaken PLEASE correct me (and supply a link showing that the fee isn't around anymore), but for now I guess I'll be passing on this:(
Well, I just called Sprint, and the rep says the 20 cent/min forwarding charge is definitely still in effect, and he had no information on it being repealed. Hopefully they're planning on doing it soon, which is what Google Voice is saying when you activate the service.
That's not what this new feature is though. If you sign up to use your existing cell number, you forward the call *from* your cell phone *to* Google Voice to land the voicemail on their system instead of your own. It's very cool, and gets you out of Sprint's garbage voicemail system, but unfortunately Sprint does seem to still charge 20 cents/min for call forwarding.
I never actually thought to try doing it before today, so I can't say. I hadn't realized that you could set call-forwarding on Sprint to forward only after a no-answer, I thought it was either all calls getting forwarded or none, and since the only phone I really use much is my cell, I had no place that I wanted to forward to anyway....
The news sounds exciting, but from everything I'm gathering anybody who's not already using Google Voice can't signup at the moment. The site says it's only available to Grand Central users, and that doesn't appear to be open for signup right now either.
As someone who's still using the ancient call the system and keep pressing next to skip messages I want to keep system, I'd happily switch over to this (hell I'd even pay a bit for it - between Gmail, Reader, Picasa, Google Apps, and this, I'd certainly be willing to pay for my Google account - not more than $10-ish per month, but still).
Heck, I would even pay a small monthly fee, maybe a buck or two a month to port my existing cell phone number. This is a number I have had since cell phones became popular. I would gladly port it, cancel my current Verizon phone, and then shop for the best plan out there regardless of carrier. Google voice would free me to have a device and plan morph with the changes in my lifestyle over time.
One of my voice mail transcripts:
"Hey it's Blake, Hey just called. He will not be in tomorrow. He is sick and he said he tried to get a hold of Robin Hood, so I'll be in all of you so bye. "
Should read
"Hey it's Jake, Sandy just called. She will not be in tomorrow. She is sick and she said she tried to get a hold of John. Please give me a call when you get this. Bye."
Actually, now that I think about it - Robin Hood could have helped us...
I wish they would let me edit the transcript. It would be much faster for me to correct the transcript, instead of going back and listening to the VM later if I need the information again. Not to mention, it could really be some great feedback to tune their algorithms...
The strange thing I noticed is that when the transcripts first became available, they were dead on accurate most of the time. Over the past 6-8 months or so, they seem to have gone down in quality.
I wonder if Google is making use of new algorithms for the speech processing that might be less CPU intensive, but provides much of the information.
Anyone out there that might know if a change was made internally?
$10 to change numbers? By any standard I've ever seen, that's a steal.
Seriously, look into doing the same with a local telephone service sometime. Some years back, the local telco issued me a home phone number that had previously been owned by a company that went Chapter 7. After a little under 2 weeks of constant phone calls at all hours of day and night (who makes collection calls at 3AM? Seriously?), I called the telco and asked. By the time I stopped talking to the rep and said "no, thanks" we were up somewhere north of $175 in fees, surcharges, and "because we're the goddamned phone company and we'll tack this little sucker on too and you'll bend over and like it, biyotch" charges. For a phone number that THEY had chosen and was in my possession for less than 2 weeks.
I picked a number not in my area back when Google Voice was GrandCentral and in beta, because no numbers were available here in the Hinterlands. I gladly paid $10 when a number became available with my correct area code, and if I could port my old Vonage number over I'd happily fork over another $10 and thank them. Given that I can use my free Gizmo line with an old Linksys PAP I have hanging around as my primary phone line now, I figure Google is saving me about $20 a month from my old 500-minute Vonage line, and loading me up with awesome features Vonage never dreamed of to boot. If I have to send then $10 every now and again, I'm still seriously ahead.
And, yeah, I've run into the "Voice Misrecognition Follies" with Google voice. Fortunately, none of the calls have been urgent, and I can tell that "Hi, versus Doctor Smith and your appointment is tomato at flower dirty" is good enough to save me the time of retrieving and listening to the audio, and make me laugh at the same time. And I can always listen to the original if they've completely messed it up. I've also had "Visual Voicemail" from Vonage and several other transcription services I've tried, and "guess what? It ain't that pretty at all." None of them do it any better. The whole technology is not ready for prime time, but it's good enough for me every time so far, and at least Google does it for free. Vonage charges a quarter per message.
I suppose if I was a pharmacist taking prescriptions, I wouldn't want to have it translate "Vicodin" when the doctor said "Viagara" or something, but for the kinds of calls I'm likely to get, the text has always allowed me to get the gist of what was being said (and I can always click a button on my Blackberry or on a website to listen to the original audio, but I've never had to).
Still US-only? (Score:3, Insightful)
Wake me up when Google voice is available outside the US.
Yup. (Score:5, Funny)
From TFA:
Setup Issues: Phone carrier not listed in setup
As of now we only officially support the following carriers listed on our site (Alltel, AT&T, Cricket Wireless, MetroPCS, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, and Verizon).
We are working on extending the support to more carriers soon.
Internet, just like UFO and Elvis sightings - only available in America.
Parent
Re:Yup. (Score:5, Insightful)
Nobody should ever release anything that doesn't instantly work worldwide! Especially when it's free!!
Parent
It used to work (Score:4, Interesting)
The thing is, GrandCentral used to work in Canada, before Google bought it.
When Google bought it, for some reason they shut down all the Canadian numbers.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
And that's why Google is penniless and in danger of vanishing at any second. My god, their stock is down to $549/share today and....wait, what?
Seriously, there's a little more to it than just watching Goog from a distance and copying them when you have a chance. Could some unknown startup in Estonia come out of nowhere and take Google's spot? I guess anything's possible, but I'm not about to hold my breath waiting. Even if they do, Google can still make a buck or two off the American market, where they'
How it works (Score:2, Interesting)
So, Google can now be set to be the termination point for your voicemails for your mobile, that is, you configure your mobile phone to call their voicemail gateway instead of your providers. Spiffy, though visual voicemail on the iPhone is a tad better interface, at least until there is another google voice app for the iPhone...
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I have had Google Voice for about a year, and an visual voice mail for two, and I don't know that I'd say one is necessarily 'better' than the other because, as you point out, they are two different things. Like asking if a hamburger is better than a fishing pole.
I use visual voice mail most all the time, and only read GV's voice-to-text when I'm somewhere I don't have a cell signal. But it is nice to have both.
Re:How it works (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Give a man a hamburger and he will eat for a day. Give him a fishing pole and he will sell it for $5 on craigslist to buy a hamburger.
-l
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Re:How it works (Score:4, Funny)
You can also get more than one meal out of a fishing pole.
I guess so, if it's a big fishing pole. But it won't taste as good as a hamburger.
Parent
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Re: (Score:3, Funny)
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The Google Voice app for Android does everything visual voicemail does, AFAIK. You can see all your messages, with transcripts and audio recordings, without dialing in.
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Visual vmail just shows you who called you without having to dial in.
Hell, my $100 phone will do that. I look at the list of missed calls, that's who left a voice mail.
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This message as translated by Google Voice:
I shot a gay that oogled Morice. Is may better than iTone visual female? Bear real lee different tings. Google transcribes you're choice tail and sms or ails him to shoe (a mung lo savanna swings). Usual gmail trusts ows ewe who call dew without having to smile him.
Yeah, but after a while you can decipher it.
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I've never had one that was that bad. Maybe you just need fewer retarded friends.
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google transcribes your voice mail
AKA "wire taps".
People always forget about Hawaii (Score:2, Informative)
Re:People always forget about Hawaii (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Oh wow! (Score:4, Interesting)
Now google allows you to do what the government has been doing for you for the past 5 years! Now your government mobile history is inextricably tied to your online activity!
Visual Voicemail (Score:2)
I would have been all over this but for the fact that my Blackberry Tour now has Visual Voicemail much like many Blackberries these days as well as the iPhone.
Does anyone with an iPhone or visual voicemail-enabled phone see value in this? I like the transcription feature but it's not a game changer.
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How about the ability to redirect your phone number to a different phone (or multiple phones)?
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That feature isn't available when using your own number, only when using a number assigned to you from Google.
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Well, it is free, so it doesn't need much in the way of value to justify getting it.
I use it when I am somewhere I can't get a cell signal on my iphone, or where I get the 'visual voicemail is not available' message. Wading through ATT's prompt based voice mail menu system is not something I have the patience for any longer. So I read the GV messages via wifi or the like.
Re:Visual Voicemail (Score:4, Interesting)
It's not just visual voicemail (with automatic transciptions - read your voicemail if you want/need to be quiet) - that's just one feature.
The main feature of Google Voice, IMO, is that your Google Voice number is really YOUR number, not the number of a particular location/device. Via the web you can program what phone(s) - zero or more - ring when someone calls your GV number and you can pick up the call on any device. If you like all your calls can go direct to voicemail and you'll then pick them up either by phone or on the web.
The use of this is that you don't need to notify anyone if you go on vactation, change job, lose your cell phone, or whatever - they always call you at your GV number, and you choose where to pick the call up (maybe just at an internet cafe via the visual voicemail).
Parent
Missing Features (Score:5, Informative)
From TFA:
More specifically, if you sign up for Google Voice with your existing number, you'll get:
* Online, searchable voicemail
* Free automated voicemail transcription
* Custom voicemail greetings for different callers
* Email and SMS notifications
* Low-priced international calling
If you decide to also get a new Google number, you'll get all of the above PLUS:
* One number that reaches you on all your phones
... lame. Completely killed my interest in this most recent development.
* SMS via email
* Call screening
* Listen In
* Call recording
* Conference calling
* Call blocking
So, you don't get all the features if you port in an existing number. How
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
So, you don't get all the features if you port in an existing number. How ... lame. Completely killed my interest in this most recent development.
There's really no point to this new option -- it's just a stripped down 'lite' version of the existing service aimed at drawing in people who were scared off by the "you'll have to change your phone number" nonsense. There's absolutely no reason to choose this option when you sign up. If all you want are the voicemail features, sign up for a "full" account (with a new number), then add your existing phone and switch on voicemail handling. That's it.
Actually, this new option is even worse: once you set it u
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
There's really no point to this new option -- it's just a stripped down 'lite' version of the existing service aimed at drawing in people who were scared off by the "you'll have to change your phone number" nonsense. There's absolutely no reason to choose this option when you sign up. If all you want are the voicemail features, sign up for a "full" account (with a new number), then add your existing phone and switch on voicemail handling. That's it.
It would be stupid to sign up for the "lite" version of this instead of the full version. But being able to forward my existing cell phone # to use google voice for voicemail is huge to me. I no longer have to wade through Verizon's crappy voicemail system (Which has no way of deleting all new messages - I get a ton of spam messages).
Actually, this new option is even worse: once you set it up, you can't go back to your carrier's voicemail system. You're stuck with Google's whether you like it or not.
Maybe it's not enabled for all carriers, but I've got an option on my settings page to revert back to using Verizon's voicemail if I like.
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Umm, you can revert your forwarding back to your carrier's voicemail. They'll even tell you how.
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Re:Missing Features (Score:4, Informative)
You're missing something. I already have a GV account. If you call my special GV number, I get the full feature list. Now I get that, PLUS I can click to add the "Lite" version to my actual cell number.
That means that if you call my cell directly, I can still send you to GV voicemail, with the "Lite" feature set.
As they say:
Parent
Sprint subscribers beware (Score:2)
I was pretty excited when I saw this, but then with a little more digging it looks like if you're on Sprint, you'll get a minimum 20 cent charge per voicemail (20 cents per minute call forwarding [sprintpcs.com]). Some people are saying Sprint has or is about to do away with this fee, but I haven't seen anything definite.
If I'm mistaken PLEASE correct me (and supply a link showing that the fee isn't around anymore), but for now I guess I'll be passing on this :(
Replying to myself (Score:2)
Well, I just called Sprint, and the rep says the 20 cent/min forwarding charge is definitely still in effect, and he had no information on it being repealed. Hopefully they're planning on doing it soon, which is what Google Voice is saying when you activate the service.
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That's not what this new feature is though. If you sign up to use your existing cell number, you forward the call *from* your cell phone *to* Google Voice to land the voicemail on their system instead of your own. It's very cool, and gets you out of Sprint's garbage voicemail system, but unfortunately Sprint does seem to still charge 20 cents/min for call forwarding.
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I never actually thought to try doing it before today, so I can't say. I hadn't realized that you could set call-forwarding on Sprint to forward only after a no-answer, I thought it was either all calls getting forwarded or none, and since the only phone I really use much is my cell, I had no place that I wanted to forward to anyway....
No new subscribers (Score:3, Informative)
The news sounds exciting, but from everything I'm gathering anybody who's not already using Google Voice can't signup at the moment. The site says it's only available to Grand Central users, and that doesn't appear to be open for signup right now either.
As someone who's still using the ancient call the system and keep pressing next to skip messages I want to keep system, I'd happily switch over to this (hell I'd even pay a bit for it - between Gmail, Reader, Picasa, Google Apps, and this, I'd certainly be willing to pay for my Google account - not more than $10-ish per month, but still).
Don't wake me until Google Voice supports porting (Score:2, Insightful)
Heck, I would even pay a small monthly fee, maybe a buck or two a month to port my existing cell phone number. This is a number I have had since cell phones became popular. I would gladly port it, cancel my current Verizon phone, and then shop for the best plan out there regardless of carrier. Google voice would free me to have a device and plan morph with the changes in my lifestyle over time.
Re:Been using it... (Score:5, Funny)
"Hey it's Blake, Hey just called. He will not be in tomorrow. He is sick and he said he tried to get a hold of Robin Hood, so I'll be in all of you so bye. "
Should read
"Hey it's Jake, Sandy just called. She will not be in tomorrow. She is sick and she said she tried to get a hold of John. Please give me a call when you get this. Bye."
Actually, now that I think about it - Robin Hood could have helped us...
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
I wish they would let me edit the transcript. It would be much faster for me to correct the transcript, instead of going back and listening to the VM later if I need the information again. Not to mention, it could really be some great feedback to tune their algorithms...
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The strange thing I noticed is that when the transcripts first became available, they were dead on accurate most of the time. Over the past 6-8 months or so, they seem to have gone down in quality.
I wonder if Google is making use of new algorithms for the speech processing that might be less CPU intensive, but provides much of the information.
Anyone out there that might know if a change was made internally?
Re: (Score:2)
I think the original algorithm they used was "pay people to listen to your voice mails and have them write it down"
Re:Been using it... (Score:5, Informative)
$10 to change numbers? By any standard I've ever seen, that's a steal.
Seriously, look into doing the same with a local telephone service sometime. Some years back, the local telco issued me a home phone number that had previously been owned by a company that went Chapter 7. After a little under 2 weeks of constant phone calls at all hours of day and night (who makes collection calls at 3AM? Seriously?), I called the telco and asked. By the time I stopped talking to the rep and said "no, thanks" we were up somewhere north of $175 in fees, surcharges, and "because we're the goddamned phone company and we'll tack this little sucker on too and you'll bend over and like it, biyotch" charges. For a phone number that THEY had chosen and was in my possession for less than 2 weeks.
I picked a number not in my area back when Google Voice was GrandCentral and in beta, because no numbers were available here in the Hinterlands. I gladly paid $10 when a number became available with my correct area code, and if I could port my old Vonage number over I'd happily fork over another $10 and thank them. Given that I can use my free Gizmo line with an old Linksys PAP I have hanging around as my primary phone line now, I figure Google is saving me about $20 a month from my old 500-minute Vonage line, and loading me up with awesome features Vonage never dreamed of to boot. If I have to send then $10 every now and again, I'm still seriously ahead.
And, yeah, I've run into the "Voice Misrecognition Follies" with Google voice. Fortunately, none of the calls have been urgent, and I can tell that "Hi, versus Doctor Smith and your appointment is tomato at flower dirty" is good enough to save me the time of retrieving and listening to the audio, and make me laugh at the same time. And I can always listen to the original if they've completely messed it up. I've also had "Visual Voicemail" from Vonage and several other transcription services I've tried, and "guess what? It ain't that pretty at all." None of them do it any better. The whole technology is not ready for prime time, but it's good enough for me every time so far, and at least Google does it for free. Vonage charges a quarter per message.
I suppose if I was a pharmacist taking prescriptions, I wouldn't want to have it translate "Vicodin" when the doctor said "Viagara" or something, but for the kinds of calls I'm likely to get, the text has always allowed me to get the gist of what was being said (and I can always click a button on my Blackberry or on a website to listen to the original audio, but I've never had to).
Parent
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Call Jenny. She'll know.
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Yes, there's an official signup page:
https://services.google.com/fb/forms/googlevoiceinvite/ [google.com]
I used it, and had my invite within a week or two.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Slashdot ate the code. It's *002*gvnumber#
See http://geckobeach.com/cellular/secrets/gsmcodes.php [geckobeach.com]. Non-gsm providers have their own codes too that you can find with google.