Google offers money-saving phone options, but catch is you have to take new number

There's just no escaping Google. First, they handled your Internet searches. Next, they provided your e-mail, and then your browser itself. Now, they want to give you a new phone number.

"It fills a need people didn't even know they had," said Adam Pash, editor of online productivity blog Lifehacker.com.

Google Voice started as a service called GrandCentral, which provided users with a new phone number in their preferred area code (212 numbers are at a premium), and enabled them to use it to ring all their phones at once. You never need to miss a call no matter where you are. In addition, it offered the ability to check your voicemail online or even to listen in as a voicemail was being left.

In 2007, Google bought GrandCentral. A few months ago, Google announced it was ready to relaunch it with a host of new features. Now, users can set schedules as to which phone would ring when: your work phone and your BlackBerry during the business day, your home phone in the evening, or none of the above if you're on vacation.

Another new feature is free calls in the continental U.S. through a system in which you enter the number you want on their Web site and it puts you through on the phone you choose.

Also handy: a feature for automatic voicemail transcription in your e-mail inbox.

All this is worthless if it doesn't work, though.

"Most of the things Google Voice does, it does really well," Pash said. "If you've got multiple phones, you'd like more control over how your calls are handled or you're just sick of listening to voicemail, it's probably worth the effort."

If you do take the plunge, Pash recommended changing your voicemail greeting to explain the switch.

"I'd recommend it, but it's not for everyone," said Neils Oleson, a tech consultant from Islandia, L.I., who gives out his Google Voice number to family and friends. "People who use a mobile as their sole phone are the best fit, since it gives you the ability to limit how you use it based on context and location."

For business calls, Oleson uses Phone.com, a paid competitor to Google Voice that specializes in providing virtual phone numbers and extensions for small businesses.

Phone.com has personal-use plans that start from $4.88 a month for 250 minutes of talking. Its big advantage over Google Voice is a more robust call routing system; different people can get different voicemail messages, for example. For small business owners, Phone.com even allows users to make automated voice menus.

One concern about Google Voice is a patent the search giant recently filed for a system to place ads in phone calls. While they haven't announced any plans to make use of it, it's become a cause for concern.

"I'd have to be resold on [Google Voice], and would probably flip to Phone.com," Oleson said.

"I could see this happening," Pash said. "But it doesn't seem like something Google would be eager to do."
Source:http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/09/28/2009-09-28_google_offers_moneysaving_phone_options_but_catch_is_you_have_to_take_new_number.html