Does anyone remember Grand Central? It was an internet app that provided users with a free phone number. You can then forward all your phones to that number. If anyone called your grand central number your primary phone would ring. You were also given free visual voicemail at the time, accessible online.
Well, Grand Central was bought by Google and has now become Google Voice, with additional features:
Google number - One number for all your calls and SMS
Call screening - Announce and screen callers
Listen in - Listen before taking a call
Block calls - Keep unwanted callers at bay
SMS - Send, receive, and store SMS
Place calls - Call US numbers for free
Taking calls - Answer on any of your phones
Phone routing - Phones ring based on who calls
Forwarding phones - Add phones and decide which ring
Google voicemail - Voicemail as easy as email, with transcripts
Voicemail transcripts - Read what your voicemail says
Listen to voicemail - Check online or from your phone
Notifications - Receive voicemails via email or SMS
Personalize greeting - Vary greetings by caller
Share voicemail - Forward or download voicemails
I'm loving it so far, mostly for the SMS features as I'm a texting whore.
