There is no doubt that Google has already established itself as one of the most influential websites in the world. With platforms like AdSense, AdWords and Gmail, it’s clear why Google’s not only the number one search engine, but one of the most visited websites.
With that, you won’t be surprised to hear about Google’s latest innovation, Google Voice. So what exactly is Google Voice? At its core it’s a voicemail system, but it definitely goes beyond that. They’ve implemented countless features that will revolutionize the way you use your phone.
Google Voice gives you a local phone number of your choosing that’s able to call up to six phones simultaneously, allowing you to have one phone for several devices. Additionally, Google Voice makes speech-to-text transcription a reality. Call settings can be created in a number of interesting ways. You can forward your Google Voice number to one device between specific hours, and if it’s not within those hours, it can forward to another device or ignore calls all together.
A prefect example of this would be you could be at your home office between 12 PM and 8 PM, but are still available to take calls afterwards until 10 PM. Then after 10 PM let’s say you don’t want to receive anymore calls. Well, Google Voice allows you to set what device(s) you want to be reached at during those hours and then set a Do Not Disturb for after 10PM. Finally you can relax at a time that works for you.
While Google Voice remains predominantly a free service, advertisements are present, particularly when using Gmail. Placing outgoing calls with Google Voice is free with the exception of international calls. The purchase of calling credits is necessary to make calls to other countries. But not to worry, Google’s prices are competitive, especially for the quality of service they provide.
