Google Voice Too Cool For Comfort
March 20, 2009
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
How would you like to make calls and SMS for free? Would giving out a single phone number for all your landlines and cell phones make your life easier? Would having your voicemail automatically transcribed and emailed to you be a nice perk? And if all of the above were available for free, would the price be right? Google is banking on it.
A few years ago, I signed up for “GrandCentral” which offered a unique web based telecom service. They gave me a telephone number which would help me consolidate all of my various landlines, cell phones, and work phones. The service was so unique that Google ended up buying the company in 2007. But from there, everything seemed to be just treading water. Until last week when I noticed a message at the top of my GrandCentral account letting me know that it was ready to be converted to Google Voice. Of course I upgraded right away. And after just a minute or too, I was able to place some calls, send some texts, and figure out all the neat new features. I even placed some international calls just to hear the call quality. While the interface is drab and looks just like a Gmail page, the service otherwise exceeded all of my expectations. There is little doubt, Google Voice is going to be a huge hit some day.
Google voice keeps the general idea of GrandCentral and adds new features such as SMS, conferencing, and automatic transcription of voice mail - all for free.
As soon as I heard about the Google Voice conversions, I immediately logged into my old GrandCentral account, only to find that my account was not yet ready to be upgraded. I did that every day. Then this morning at 8am I received a message that my account was ready to be transitioned to Google Voice.
Google Voice has some features and pricing which is bound to scare a lot of Voice over IP (VoIP) companies. Calls and SMS in the US are FREE. That’s a big word that can really take you places, if it doesn’t bankrupt the company. And if anyone can afford to offer “Free”, it is Google.
The other big news is that Google is offering low cost calls to International destinations. I did some checking and Google Voice is generally much cheaper than Vonnage or Skype on International calling. For example, I can call almost all of Western Europe and parts of Asia for just 2 cents per minute. Even expensive to call areas, such as India, have rates far below what we would normally find in a consumer international calling service. International is the revenue driver for many VoIP companies. But it will likely be the free domestic calling, SMS, and conferencing which will bring Google Voice its new customers.
At this point, Google Voice is in a limited Beta, available only to existing GrandCentral account holders. However, eventually the service will open to the public and everyday users will find their way to this new Google service. Who wouldn’t want free calls and texts? Google Voice will no doubt become much more closely intertwined into other Google services over time, such as Gmail, Google Talk, and possibly even the Android mobile phone platform. All the pieces are in place for Google to dominate the consumer Voice over IP (VoIP) market, should Google choose to go down that road.
Is Google Voice the perfect VoIP application? Not quite. The interface feels half baked and additional features will need to be added to make it more full featured as a phone service. But it won’t take much to push this service into the public eye. Google Voice is poised to become a major and transformative force in the Telecom Industry.
Fantastic, free, and disruptive. This is a service to watch, or fear, as the case may be.
Comments
2 Responses to “Google Voice Too Cool For Comfort”
Got something to say?
Advertisement
If you're interested in advertising on Telecom Monthly and would like to learn more, contact us at ads@telecommonthly.com
[...] Google Voice Too Cool For Comfort [...]
The graphics and “look” are GREAT! (I had not read the last couple of issues.) I even clicked on the remainder of this article and found the additional info and graphics (screenshots, ratesheet, etc.) very informative and helpful.