Google Voice: Now With Your Existing Cell Number

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Say you love the idea of Google Voice and all of the cool features it represents, but you just can't stand the thought of memorizing ANOTHER phone number. Or your cell phone is a work issued phone and you have to stick with that number for business purposes. In the past, if that was your situation you were just SOL. But today, thanks to the wonderful folks at Google, that's no longer an issue.

Users can now get Google Voice with a Google issued number, or with an old, pre-existing number. If you choose to use your old number some features will be missing from voice, like call screening and recording, but most of Voice's features will remain intact. That includes Google voicemail, quite possibly the best thing about voice as a whole.

Posted on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:09:41 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Voice Messages Searchable...By Anyone?

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We have some potentially terrible news for Google Voice users. A reader of Boy Genius has stumbled onto what could be a major security hole in the popular service. If you enter "site:https://www.google.com/voice/fm/*" and do a Google search, a list of voice mail messages pops up.

These messages appear to be real messages, from random people. They include audio files and transcripts. The caller's name and phone number is also listed. Some of the messages sound almost like they could be promotional recordings (the first two are people talking about ways to use Google Voice) but many of them seem to just be random messages from people.

Posted on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:55:37 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Voice: Free Calls to Canada

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Google Voice is pretty much the darling wunderkind of the tech world these days. It's an incredibly useful, well planned and run resource that allows users an unprecedented degree of freedom in handling calls and dealing with messages. Voice gives users cheap long distance calling, free text messaging and, now, free calls to Canada.

Posted on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:30:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Is Apple Building A Google Voice Clone?

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On the outside, Apple's decision to reject Google Voice seems rather nonsensical. It provoked the FCC's ire, angered thousands of customers, and made Apple look just as stodgy and backwards as AT&T. It doesn't make any sense...unless Apple wants Voice out of the way so they won't have competition when they release a similar app.

Andrew Garcia at eWeek.com certainly thinks so. And he's put together a compelling argument to try and prove it. He points out that Voice was rejected by Apple under the “conflicts with existing services” justification. While there are currently no services in the App Store similar to Voice, that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Posted on Tue, 4 Aug 2009 11:35:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

FCC Investigates Apple Nixing Google Voice

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Another page has been written in the epic saga of Google Voice and its iPhone troubles. Now the FCC is investigating Apple for cutting the app, as well as several 3rd party Voice apps, from its online store. The Federal Communications Commission sent letters to Apple, AT&T, and Google looking for information on the whole conflict.

Specifically the FCC wanted to know exactly why Apple rejected the app and removed the related applications. They also wanted to know what, if any role, AT&T had on the decision. Apple, whose App Store policies have been wondered at but never formally questioned, was asked to give an accounting of exactly what the approval process involves. The FCC asked for the percentage of rejected apps, and the major reasons that an app gets nixed.

Posted on Sat, 1 Aug 2009 14:05:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Apple Kills Google Voice For iPhone.

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It's a sad day to be an Apple fan. News has just come out that Apple is pulling all Google Voice applications from its app store. Google Voice is no longer a possibility on the iPhone, a fact which is going to make quite a few people angry. Google Voice is easily the single most promising application that's come out for mobile phones in years. It allows you to consolidate all of your numbers under one master number, as well as giving you what amounts to free texting capabilities.

Google Voice has been a resounding success so far, and Google still hasn't been able to sort through all of the invitations. Unfortunately, phone carriers aren't very happy with Voice. It cuts them out of a lot of money, and makes it much less of a hassle for users to switch carriers. Changing your phone number is a huge hassle, but with Google Voice you have the same number wherever you go.

Read more

Posted on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:45:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Voice: Not For iPhones

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Bad news, iPhone owners. Google Voice may not be coming to you after all. AppleInsider's just reported that Google is currently working with Apple to try and get a Google Voice app working for the iPhone. Unfortunately, AT&T could stop that from ever becoming a reality.

Among other things, Google Voice allows users to send text messages for free using their Google number. That's an amazing deal for Voice users, but it cuts a huge swath of profit out of AT&T's business model. Text messages are the bread and butter of mobile carriers, they involve virtually no expense and bring in big, greasy bundles of money.

Posted on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:20:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Voice For Android/BlackBerry Out.

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Google Voice is the new free service from Google that ties all of your mobile, home phone, and Skype numbers together under one customized number. It's in the beta stage right now, and Google still hasn't finished working their way through the massive backlog of invitations. That hasn't stopped them from working on ways to expand the service, though. Today, BlackBerry and Android fans are going to get the first Google Voice app.

This news comes as no surprise. Giving Google Voice a smartphone presence is an understandable priority for Google. Voice is a service that won't really see the apex of its potential until it is totally mobile. The use of voice is that, by linking all of your numbers together, it makes your life way more portable. Now you can answer office calls, and personal calls, all on the same phone.

Posted on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:45:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Voice Lets You Change Your Number...Again

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Today the folks behind Google Voice took a short break from answering invite requests and added a new feature to their service. If, for whatever reason, you decide you really don't like your Google Voice number, you can now change it. It'll cost you ten bucks, but that's really pretty fair when you consider what it's letting you do (and the hassle that switching numbers represents for Google).

Google Voice is a brand-new service that lets you consolidate all of your mobile, home, office, and Skype numbers together under one customized number. Google even has a number picking tool that lets you type out words to see if the number spelling them is available in your area. It's a very convenient little service that is getting a lot of attention.

Posted on Fri, 3 Jul 2009 10:35:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Voice: Now For Small Businesses

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Invites have only been out for a few short days, and already Google Voice has an add-on. Google Voice is a service that consolidates all of your phone numbers (including Skype) together under one number. It's free (you'll have to wait a long while for invites though) and you can even pick vanity numbers.

That's an especially attractive proposition for small businesses, as it would allow them to have a custom number for their company that links multiple cell, in-office, or sky numbers together. Unfortunately, Google Voice currently lacks any ability to allow you to differentiate between which number which call goes to. This would be a major limiting factor for the service, if the good people at On-State hadn't stepped in.

Posted on Wed, 1 Jul 2009 17:30:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Long Wait for Google Voice Invites

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Did you apply for a Google Voice invite yesterday, as soon as you heard the news? If so, you could be in for one heck of a long wait. Even if you applied way earlier than yesterday it could still take weeks, if not months, for your invitation to come. Recent reports suggest that Google has an enormous backlog of invitation requests to work through.

A tweet from the Google Voice head Greg Walker carried with it the good news that Google is continuing to send out invites, and the bad news that there are a LOT of invites to hand out.

Posted on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:25:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Voice Invites Are Out!

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It's finally happened; Google Voice invitations are going out! Until recently the service has been in testing, and only available to users in GrandCentral. Now they're opening things up, and if you requested an invitation to Voice earlier your invite could find its way to your inbox at any moment.

When you get the invite all you'll need to do is click the link and follow the instructions to get your account set up. Google Voice will link all of your phones together under one number, which Google claims will make voicemail as easy as email to manage. One of the first things you'll need to do to set up your account is pick the Google number that will tie all of your phones together.

Posted on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:55:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

GVdialer for Google Voice Launches

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A new mobile application for Google voice has been announced called GVdialer. The application is available for the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Windows mobile, and Nokia handsets. The app lets users make calls using Google Voice directly from the contacts menu on their device as well as the call log and keypad.

Features of the application include one number allowing callers to show their Google number on the caller ID of the phone. Simple calling lets users connect the call automatically via Google Voice. Users can get instant access to voice mail, Inbox and Goog-411. Read more

Posted on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 06:27:33 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Google Voice unveiled

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Google announced Google Voice based in the acquired GrandCentral service.
Google acquired GrandCentral about a year ago and rolls out to the GrandCentral users a preview of Google Voice.
Google Voice improves the way you use your phone. You can get transcripts of your voicemail and archive and search all of the SMS text messages you send and receive.
You can also use Google Voice to make low-priced international calls and access Goog-411 directory assistance. Read more

Posted on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Google Voice Search for iPhone available for Download

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The highly anticipated new Google Search App for the iPhone with voice recognition is available for download now on the iTunes App store.
With the Google voice enabled search (Google Mobile App) you can speak your queries without even pushing a single button.
Additionally the new iPhone Google Search App version also brings Search with My Location. With that feature you can just search for business, weather, and movie information without specifying where you are. Read more

Posted on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:48:03 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr