Google Voice

I have been using it for months with no issues.

exampasser wrote: »

I just hope that they keep it free, I'm getting a google number now.

Me too. It is an awesome tool.

RockinIT

I am yet to use it through Gmail, but I have had luck with it and my iPhone.

RockinIT wrote: »

I am yet to use it through Gmail, but I have had luck with it and my iPhone.

On another note Schenectady is a fun word to say lol.

erpadmin

Google Voice is great. I have it attached to my home, cell and work numbers. You can screen calls and you can even block certain numbers from calling you. I plan on keeping my GV number for a terribly long time. I use it primarily to give vendors and WGU a number to call. Soon, the credit card companies will be updated with it as well.

Does anyone know of an inexpensive wifi equipped smartphone that I could use with Google Voice? My prepaid Tracfone won't work.

exampasser wrote: »

Does anyone know of an inexpensive wifi equipped smartphone that I could use with Google Voice? My prepaid Tracfone won't work.

Most any smart phone. Do you want to stay with tracphone?

knwminus wrote: »

Most any smart phone. Do you want to stay with tracphone?

I plan to keep my Tracfone I just wanted to know of a cheap smart phone I can buy without having to go though a cell phone carrier.

RockinIT

knwminus wrote: »

On another note Schenectady is a fun word to say lol.

I live close to Niskayuna too.

exampasser wrote: »

I plan to keep my Tracfone I just wanted to know of a cheap smart phone I can buy without having to go though a cell phone carrier.

Oh. Well no not really. Are you bent on tracphone or could it be any minute phone provider? Boast mobile is pretty good.

knwminus wrote: »

Oh. Well no not really. Are you bent on tracphone or could it be any minute phone provider? Boast mobile is pretty good.

I'm not bent on tracphone. I was just hoping on being able to buy a smart phone without using a phone provider and use that for wifi access to Google Voice. I want to run gmail (with Google voice) off the phone.

I just remembered that a workplace that I know is trying to **** an iPhone for $50. If I don't get a phone service plan and just use wifi I assume I could run Google Voice off of that?

I don't think you would need service to get on WiFi.

The idea of buying the cheap iPhone got botched, I was just informed someone else bought it so I'm back to finding another cheap phone.

EDIT:Perhaps I would be better off with some type of VOIP adapter that I could connect to my existing home phones.

Google Voice on a cellphone isn't actually routing the call via VoIP so you'd still need cell service at least for now anyway. It uses service numbers to make and take calls so if you're out of the country or don't have the ability to make/receive regular calls then it won't work.

The Gizmo5 integration that they're currently working on will eventually let you make/receive calls all via VoIP but so far that has only been implemented in the gmail web app.

tiersten wrote: »

Google Voice on a cellphone isn't actually routing the call via VoIP so you'd still need cell service at least for now anyway. It uses service numbers to make and take calls so if you're out of the country or don't have the ability to make/receive regular calls then it won't work.

The Gizmo5 integration that they're currently working on will eventually let you make/receive calls all via VoIP but so far that has only been implemented in the gmail web app.

Thanks for the explanation, I've heard about the integration with Gizmo5 but I have read somewhere that there are charges to use Gizmo5, I'll have to look into it more. Sorry for getting overly excited about Google voice I just noticed it today when I logged into my gmail account (haven't logged into it for a while)

Google Voice is pretty awesome though. I use it via my cellphone for SMS to/from family & friends in the US and if I need to, I can call via gmail. As I previously mentioned, actually making calls via Google Voice on my cellphone isn't possible but people can always leave me voicemail which gets transcribed and emailed to me.

If you're not in the US then you'll need a temporary US number to activate Google Voice. A friend or family member in the US can do it for you as you can disable the ring through to that number after registration. The initial registration has to be done via a US IP as well but after that it doesn't care. Pick the area code and number you want carefully as it costs $10 to change it afterwards.

I didn't know that it costs $10 to change your number, good thing I did carefully choose my number. The ability to make/receive calls though Gmail gave me the false impression that it was a VoIP service.

exampasser wrote: »

I didn't know that it costs $10 to change your number, good thing I did carefully choose my number.

You originally couldn't change it at all.

exampasser wrote: »

The ability to make/receive calls though Gmail gave me the false impression that it was a VoIP service.

Yeah. People think it is a VoIP service but its not. At least not yet. The gmail integration is also new and only appeared recently.

I was trying to figure out how and why I couldn't make Google Voice calls on my Android phone. Its not very well documented about how exactly it makes the calls until I did some testing and some searching online. Thats how I found out that its actually calling a set of special Google owned telephone numbers for outgoing and accepting a call from another set of Google owned telephone numbers for incoming.

I'm unsure about how exactly Google Voice works on the iPhone as last I heard, the official Google Voice app was still held up by Apple and the replacement is some kind of web app.

Google bought Gizmo5 who provided a VoIP service but you can no longer register a new account as they've disabled registration. Google Voice can use Gizmo5 as a destination already but unless you've already got a Gizmo5 account, you can't use it. The gmail integration is part of the Gizmo5 purchase.

shaqazoolu

I've been using it pretty much since it came out and I think it's awesome. I still have people that won't answer when I call from my GVoice number because they don't recognize it. Then I call back right after from my cell number and they pick up on the first ring. Save my GVoice number already, geez.

tiersten wrote: »

You originally couldn't change it at all.

Yeah. People think it is a VoIP service but its not. At least not yet. The gmail integration is also new and only appeared recently.

I was trying to figure out how and why I couldn't make Google Voice calls on my Android phone. Its not very well documented about how exactly it makes the calls until I did some testing and some searching online. Thats how I found out that its actually calling a set of special Google owned telephone numbers for outgoing and accepting a call from another set of Google owned telephone numbers for incoming.

Interesting. I thought it was a VOIP app as well

shaqazoolu

tiersten wrote: »

I was trying to figure out how and why I couldn't make Google Voice calls on my Android phone. Its not very well documented about how exactly it makes the calls until I did some testing and some searching online. Thats how I found out that its actually calling a set of special Google owned telephone numbers for outgoing and accepting a call from another set of Google owned telephone numbers for incoming.

Weird, when I make a call through GVoice on mine it shows me what Google number it's going through.

shaqazoolu wrote: »

Weird, when I make a call through GVoice on mine it shows me what Google number it's going through.

It doesn't get that far on mine because I'm not in the US

One thing to beware of though. If somebody sends you a MMS of any kind then Google Voice will silently ignore it. You don't get a notification or anything and the sender doesn't get anything either.

This means you end up with the stupid situation of voice and SMS is this Google Voice number but if you want to send me a picture or something then its my real cell number.

shaqazoolu

tiersten wrote: »

One thing to beware of though. If somebody sends you a MMS of any kind then Google Voice will silently ignore it. You don't get a notification or anything and the sender doesn't get anything either.

This means you end up with the stupid situation of voice and SMS is this Google Voice number but if you want to send me a picture or something then its my real cell number.

Well that's just dumb. I need to test this.

The only people that ever actually use my GVoice number aren't people that would send me MMS messages so I guess I've never run into that issue before.