Content Usability

Google Voice is a "one number for life" service from Google. It provides a single  phone number which you can set to ring any or all of up to 6 mobile or landline or Google Talk SIP numbers. Features include

• Free US domestic long distance calling
• Email notifications of voicemails with an attached audio file
• Call blocking and screening,
• Custom voicemail greetings and temporary call diversion
• A Web and Mobile Web administration page where  you can change which phones your Google Voice number rings, temporarily block calls or divert them to a new number, view call records, listen to voicemail by downloading an mp3 and manage and place calls from your GrandCentral phone book
• Voicemails are automatically transcribed into text which is emailed to you and can be viewed on the web and mobile web
• Low cost (competive with Skype and other VOIP services) international long distance calling
• SMS forwarding. Text messages sent to your Google Voice number are forwarded to the mobile numbers you specify.You can send free texts to U.S. numbers from the Google Voice web and mobile  web sites.
• Make free long distance calls from any phone by calling your Google Voice number, pressing * and choosing "make call" from the menu.

I've been using with Google Voice for a couple of years and it works very well. Texts are delivered immediately and can be viewed as a threaded transcript on the Google Voice web and mobile web sites. Texts sent from the web interfaces appear as coming from your Google Talk number. Recipients can reply to Google Talk texts and their replies go to all your phones.  When someone sends you a text it comes from a 406-NNN-NNN (Montana) number.  If you reply to that number it will come from your Google Voice number and will show up in your Google Voice inbox.  The sender's real number also appears in the body of the message for reference.

I've had mixed results with the voice transcription. It handles common words very well but sometimes stumbles humorously on longer words and proper names. Gustav was transcribed as " the start of" and Yoplait became "at your place". My favorite was "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" which was rendered phonetically as "super caliper she's X P L a delicious". I was generally able to make sense of the transcriptions and the mp3 clip of the actual message was just a click away for the ones I couldn't.

The Google Voice  mobile site has three tabs for Inbox, Contacts and Settings.  Inbox now includes SMS and the Settings tab has some new options; "Do Not Disturb",  "Add Credit" and the ability to toggling call screening, which Google calls  "Call Presentation".  It's an easy site to navigate and use and at 4 KB in size it loads quickly and should work on most phones.

Google Voice is curently only available in the U.S