Google Voice is MSN’s answer to gaining complete control over all of your personal and business telecommunications, from emails, voicemail and live phone calls to recording, downloading and sharing conversations, emails and voicemails. Sort of like Big Brother on steroids, and the likelihood is high that some hacker will eventually make a Bot or ghost program to record the keystrokes, or some other form of accessing all of your phones and electronic addresses, and then have access to all of your electronic and voice communications.
Okay, so MSN has 64-bit encoded security built into the program, making it seem safe to use, but the chance is always there, and for those willing to take that chance, Google Voice could revolutionize the way you interact with others. You can have one person’s call go to your 3-G phone, and another person’s calls routed to your home phone. The choice is now yours with Google Voice. Ask Google Voice for an invitation to receive your own Google Voice phone number, and you will be on your way to revolutionizing the way you use telecommunications gear.
Built on an email forwarding platform and extended to include phone conversations, the user now has the ability to take charge of their email, voicemail and telephone calls from one central hub, the Google Voice page on a computer or web-enabled device. A guide to Google Voice features would have to start with the warning that you will be recording conversations made with other people over the phone, which could be a violation of their personal rights if not told in advance of the recording. You can record phone calls made to your cell phone, home phone, 3-G or 4-G phone, and your new Google Voice phone number.
Using Google Voice, you combine it with your existing home and/or cell phone numbers, and you can add your Google Voice phone number to gain more options. With just your phone numbers and Google Voice, you can get Google voicemail, which is email read out to you by your computer. A pre-installed language program must be working properly for Google Voice to work properly. Or, you can have your voicemail transcribed into text, in the language of your choice, and even translated into another language. You can then forward or email all or portions of what you have received.
Google Voice also allows you to customize the ringer for each person who calls you, with computer-generated or personally recorded messages, like “mom’s calling”. You can read your voicemail like you would read email using your cell, 3-G or 4-G phone, and store or download the transcription for later viewing and editing, forwarding, emailing, or whatever you want to do with it. International calling is free, or at least there are no added costs for using Google Voice for long distance calls (you still pay your normal long distance fees for your phone carrier).
When combined with a Google Voice phone number, you get a lot more options to play with your emails and phone calls, although the service only works with incoming phone calls. One phone number can make all of your phones ring, including your computer! A text message can be displayed on your computer monitor, and you can alter the message after the first call from any number, and do the same for all phones with caller ID. You get free SMS, where you can store, send and receive text messages on-line, and send unwanted callers directly to email or voicemail.
One great option with Google Voice, when combining your phone numbers with a Google Voice phone number, you can record all incoming phone calls. A great feature for proving what you were offered by that aggressive tele-marketer, and you can store the calls on-line, for future use, forwarding or editing for fun. You can have multiple people join in with you for a conference call, so that everyone hears everyone else. As with most phone services, you can also screen your incoming calls, so that you can hear who is calling before you pick up. Your computer will tell you what number, or the name associated with the number that is calling, so you don’t have to get up if you don’t want to answer the phone.
Enjoy Google Voice. If you trust the ability to make it safe to use, then it could revolutionize the way you use phones, email and voicemail. However, you may want to wait for the second update, which should come shortly after the first successful hack of the system.
