Google is about to provide yet another great service, and this one might offer more flexibility for prepaid phone users.
They are re-introducing a service formally known as GrandCentral, henceforth to be known as Google Voice, and adding on some additional features along the way.
Nearly two years ago, Google purchased a startup called GrandCentral. It was a service that allowed users to get a free incoming telephone number, which they could then manage via a web page, to forward to one or many other numbers. For example, I signed up and then set up the account to ring through to my landline and two different TracFones at the same time.
Now, whenever someone calls my GrandCentral number, the call is connected to whichever of the three handsets I answer first. If I don’t answer at all, the call goes to GrandCentral’s voice mail system. (The forwarding settings can be changed at a moments notice via the webiste, too).
This can be helpful in a variety of ways – you can give out the number to people that you don’t want having your “real” phone number, or you can use it to make sure that important calls always find you, whichever phone you maybe close to, among many other applications.
There are also a lot of other features that can make it even more useful. For example, one option allows you to answer an incoming call, but immediately send it to voice mail, then listen in as the caller leaves a message. If you determine it’s appropriate to do so, you can “pick up” in the middle of the message. You can also listen to your messages on the web, and those message will stay in your account until you delete them.
Another option allows Google Voice users to place a link on a website or in an email that allows a site visitor to “call”you without knowing your number, by clicking on the link and then entering their own number. Google has also added the option of having voice messages transcribed to text by a computer. The text can then be sent to you either via SMS text message or email. The other features are too numerous to list here , but I will wrap it up by saying that I really enjoy this service, and highly recommend it. (And if you’re interested you can read this article which more fully explains the service).
And that’s why I’m posting this now – once Google acquired GrandCentral, they stopped taking new users. Now it looks as though they’ll be opening it up again. You’ll have to sign up with your name and email address and wait for registration to open up. I recommend doing so if you’re even remotely interested in the service. Here is the link to sign up for a new account.
And, if you’ve already used Grand Central/Google Voice, I’d love to hear your comments on how you make use of it. Please share in the comments section – to get things started, I’ll share a prank that I dreamed up…
I once set up my GrandCentral number to forward to 6 phones at once. All of the phones belonged to carefully-selected friends. I then waited for an opportune, quiet moment when we were all together, and discreetly called my own GrandCentral number. I watched as 6 phones rang all at once, and everyone started digging for their phones. A childish, geeky prank? Yes. But an entertaining one.
Great blog! I can’t wait for the service to start. Thanks for another very informative message.
As usual a very insightful and knowledgeable article. THANK YOU so much for all your time and detailed information to help us in this “brave new world”. And I thought the tracfone information alone was golden and here you go giving us more choices and “goodies”. I really can’t thank you enough for all you are doing for us and wish I had discovered you years and years ago.