Friday, February 05, 2010

[skgrvmma] Google Voice review

Google Voice review

CONS:

Google knows who you call, when you call, and can eavesdrop and transcribe your every conversation. Everyone whom Google shares this information with, voluntarily (a corrupt employee) or involuntarily (a hacker or subpoena) will be able to know everything you do on the phone.

Also your text messages.

Need to disseminate a new phone number. If the service becomes worse (inserting ads, pay per call) and you decide to quit Google voice, you will need to disseminate (again) a new number to all your contacts to whom you had preiously given only your Google Voice number. If you don't want to do this, you are locked into Google Voice.

Unless you've signed up for the currently closed Gizmo5 VoIP SIP service, your calls still cost minutes.

Because your Google number is not on your mobile network, you and anyone you call or receive a call from does not receive the benefits of free within-network mobile-to-mobile calls.

PROS:

Unlimited free text messaging to and from your Google number. The only real benefit?

Though actually, the reason I liked text messaging is because my old phone lacked email, web, and instant messaging. My new phone has these features. Maybe the senders will be upgrading phones, too. Or I convince them to text message my email address. And I can email the email version of their text messaging number.

I also think of text messaging as ephemeral communications, with possibly nothing to be gained from saving them.

Call forwarding. Would be nice if I had more than one phone to forward to, but I don't. Half of the "it costs minutes" problem could be mitigated if I had a landline with unlimited minutes to forward to. The other half (that it costs the other party minutes) remains unsolved. Because of number portability, the goal of having a constant number despite providers changing is already solved without Google Voice.

Conference calling. I have lived just fine in my life until now without desiring this feature.

A central server for saving and accessing all your old voicemails and text messages with lots of space. Possibly useful. Note that voicemail was always accessible remotely by calling yourself, hitting #, and entering your PIN.

Voicemails can be listened on your computer, without incurring minutes. I have occasionally wanted this feature, though it has been available forever from other for-pay call forwarding services.

Voicemail transcription, visual voicemail, a better user interface for voicemail and text messages. I have lived just fine in my life until now without desiring this feature. I don't get a lot of phone calls.

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