Google Voice

Just a reminder for people who haven’t seen or heard of it yet, Google Voice is pretty freaking sweet.

Like its associated friend Skype, Google Voice is a VoIP service that allows you to call numbers from its website, after you’ve added a little credit to your account.  however, unlike Skype, Google Voice has a few more handy features:

• Google Voice assigns you a permanent phone number, that can be forwarded to any US or Canadian phone…any SIX phones, actually.  Whenever someone calls your Google Voice Number, it rings through to your other phone.  Even if you’re not online.  For free.
• Google Voice transcribes any voicemails and text messages you get to your assigned number, and mails them to your primary account email address.
• Local (meaning US and Canada) calls are all free.  This is a major difference from Skype, which charges a tiny fee to make any calls except to long distance numbers.
• You can choose your Google Voice number — by area code (want to pretend you live in Manhattan?) or by having it spell something (want to be 505-YOURMOM?).
• Much easier to understand than Google Wave.

Downsides to Google Voice?

• Well, you can’t have it forward to an international number (like, you can’t set your Google Voice number to ring on your Afghani cell phone), and it won’t assign you an international number either — this is really mostly just for North American residents.
• If you have any paranoia, Google’s compulsive information gathering means that they are actually storing data on all of your received texts and VMs, what with transcribing them and storing them on Google’s servers and all.  You don’t really have any privacy on Google Voice.
• You need an invite to join.  You can join the Google Voice invite waiting list or cajole, beg, and bribe friends with invites to send you one.  Every Google Voice user gets 3 invites…eventually.  I just joined this week, and don’t have mine yet.
• If you live in Canada (or indeed, anywhere but the US), the website will tell you that Google Voice is not enabled for your country.  You have to create a fake US IP address and also provide a fake forwarding number.  Or you can hack stuff.

Still, you know what would be an excellent Christmas present that doesn’t cost you a cent? Your Google Voice invite to the cool Vagabonder in your life.

PS You can’t ask for VAGABONDER as your phone number.  I tried.  It only does shorter words, not a full ten-letter word.  Alas.