# Google Voice?



## Bob Hubbard (Jan 7, 2011)

Anyone use it?


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## bluewaveschool (Jan 7, 2011)

I have before.  It worked fine, just no one really wanted to use it.


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## Bill Mattocks (Jan 8, 2011)

I plan to give it a try, but at the moment, I'm quite pleased with Skype, which I use every day.


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## fireman00 (Jan 8, 2011)

so far I'm not impressed with the voice to text msg/ email translation, it is horrible. The words are a mish mash, about 70% inaccurate although if someone leaves their phone number in the message that gets translated accurately. 

Since we've dropped our land line in the house there's no need for us to have an inbound call ring on several phones.  Seems like it would be a good idea for a small business owner, when a customer calls the Voice number it could ring the home number, cell number and office number. 

I'm about to start testing the texting feature between cell phones which supposedly makes use of the data plan, not the text message plan. That would be a huge savings.


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## jks9199 (Jan 8, 2011)

Yep.  Gives me a phone number for free and without having to tie up phone lines.  Also makes it possible for me to have a phone number to give out to people that they can get to me directly without giving 'em my real number.

I figure it's not going to be free forever -- and that, eventually, they're going to run into a problem with phone numbers...  but, hey, as long as I can get away with it, I'm using it.

It's not a replacement for a regular phone, be it cell or landline, but it's a good alternative for a small business or club.


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## crushing (Jan 8, 2011)

I have it, but haven't used it much.  I like the idea of a single number that can ring my work, home, and mobile phones at the same time, but I have yet to give the number out.  I wish I could transfer my home number to Google Voice and get rid of the landline.


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## Cryozombie (Jan 8, 2011)

fireman00 said:


> so far I'm not impressed with the voice to text msg/ email translation, it is horrible. The words are a mish mash, about 70% inaccurate although if someone leaves their phone number in the message that gets translated accurately.



Weird, I have it on my smartphone, and I use the speech to text feature way more than my keyboard, and find as long as I speak clearly it's accurate almost all the time. Of course, I'm also being careful in my diction... 

*shrug*


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## Carol (Jan 8, 2011)

I'm actually not crazy about the platforms.  I do use them, but I've noticed that communicating Skype/Google Voice/Windows Live has also brought about a certain undercurrent of desire to turn the chat in to a video chat.  Perhaps women face this more than men...but I have received several comments "why won't you do video" when engaged in voice chat.  This wasn't from strangers or some pick-up I just met, this was from professional phone conversations with people with whom I have an established business relationship.

I don't particularly like this expectation...especially on the days I work from home.  No, I'm not going to distract from the subject at hand so you can see me in my kitchen, or in my living room with my banged up legs iced and propped up.


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## fireman00 (Jan 8, 2011)

Cryozombie said:


> Weird, I have it on my smartphone, and I use the speech to text feature way more than my keyboard, and find as long as I speak clearly it's accurate almost all the time. Of course, I'm also being careful in my diction...
> 
> *shrug*



Sorry, to clarify... the problem is when someone leaves me a voice mail. Google Voice translates it to an email and sends the bizarrely translated email to me.  Any of the apps on my Droid X work great when they translate my voice to text. Google search is amazing in its accuracy which is why I was disappointed in how Voice translates my v/ms to email.


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## jks9199 (Jan 9, 2011)

fireman00 said:


> Sorry, to clarify... the problem is when someone leaves me a voice mail. Google Voice translates it to an email and sends the bizarrely translated email to me.  Any of the apps on my Droid X work great when they translate my voice to text. Google search is amazing in its accuracy which is why I was disappointed in how Voice translates my v/ms to email.


Yeah, the translations of messages for the email can suck...  but I've found there's typically enough that I can kind of figure out what it's about and whether it's a "check NOW" or "it can wait" type of message.

As to video chat... Not interested in it, generally.  I haven't seen one (short of true dedicated videoconferencing systems that are NOT cheap) that isn't too jumpy and erratic to be of benefit in reading expressions/reactions; that's why I generally prefer to talk to people face to face.


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## Bob Hubbard (Jan 9, 2011)

I'm looking into using it to set up distinct phone numbers for my various business entities, without having to have 4 gadzillion extra phones I have to keep remembering to charge.  So far, I've set up 1 number that rinks both my cell and land line for personal calls, so that family and a few close friends can reach me in emergency without having to go down a phone tree.  Probably going to do the same with the photography biz, while leaving the web company at the land line for now.


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## Carol (Jan 9, 2011)

jks9199 said:


> Yep.  Gives me a phone number for free and without having to tie up phone lines.  Also makes it possible for me to have a phone number to give out to people that they can get to me directly without giving 'em my real number.
> 
> I figure it's not going to be free forever -- and that, eventually, they're going to run into a problem with phone numbers...  but, hey, as long as I can get away with it, I'm using it.
> 
> It's not a replacement for a regular phone, be it cell or landline, but it's a good alternative for a small business or club.



There already is a problem with phone numbers, to be honest.  The demand for them is making them more expensive from a provider viewpoint.   Google is a great data aggregator, and for them to get in to voice permits them to get in to all the hidden data that is "behind the scenes" data of a phone call that passes invisibly across the(ir) phone networks -- who calls who, when they call, who the providers are, how the call is billed.

I think this is to lay the groundwork for Googleto do a lot more in the voice arena, personally.


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## jks9199 (Jan 10, 2011)

Carol said:


> There already is a problem with phone numbers, to be honest.  The demand for them is making them more expensive from a provider viewpoint.   Google is a great data aggregator, and for them to get in to voice permits them to get in to all the hidden data that is "behind the scenes" data of a phone call that passes invisibly across the(ir) phone networks -- who calls who, when they call, who the providers are, how the call is billed.
> 
> I think this is to lay the groundwork for Googleto do a lot more in the voice arena, personally.


Oh, I'm sure that it's part of Google's hidden or implied plan to dominate the world...  But I try not to let my paranoid conspiracy thoughts run too free!


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## ArmorOfGod (Jan 10, 2011)

I don't use gmail, but I use the free phone number that Google voice gave me.  I  use it for my martial arts school.
If someone calls it, it rings as many phones as I want it to (cell, work, home, etc).  Also, it has a handly little interface online that gives me history of who called and hung up, who I called with it, and it translates messages left in its free voicemail and emails that to me.  I can also send and recieve texts from that online interface without having to use my cell phone.
I don't call people from my computer with it, but I do access it from my cell phone and call people that way.  If I do that, it shows my Google number on their screen.
It is beyond perfect for my needs.
Also, when you open it, you can try to get clever numbers by typing in numbers you would like to have.

AoG


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## Carol (Jan 10, 2011)

OK...just signed up for an account with an Orange County area code...LOL

It utilizes my professional "trademark" -- could come in handy if I get downsized, although I hope I don't get downsized *shudders*


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