What is Google Voice?

Since I'm impressed with Google Voice, let me do some free marketing for them.

Google Voice is by invitation only for now. But students with .EDU account can request an invite.

But why do you need a Google Voice when you have your regular phone number? Well, it's just like the need to have a universal phone charger. Nobody wants to rummage through the drawers to pull out the right one only to be misplaced again!

If you have been worried about losing your phone number while you changed carriers, or worried about not being accessible when you are at different numbers, or have been frustrated to reach that particular phone to access voice messages, then you need a universal phone number that does it all for you.

If you are the one who uses more than one phone number, you should own a Google Voice number to solve your phone worries.

Here's how Google Voice works--

1. You create your own Google Voice number after Google approves your invitation. Request an invitation with your .EDU account.

2. Add phone numbers (cell, home, office, etc) to forward calls to. Remember, you can customize the way you want to receive these calls. Check out this YouTube video on how Google Voice works.

3. Choose the option to receive SMS of your voice mails (of course, it only transcribes standard English now!), or opt to receive email messages of all the voice mails to any of the phones you own.

4. Customize playback messages by creating groups.

5. You can buy credits to make international calls. (I prefer Skype or Raza for that.)

There are many other features you can explore on your own.

So, what is the biggest advantage of a Google Voice number????

Your Google Voice becomes your permanent number. When someone asks your phone number you give your Google number. That means even if you move from one phone to another or change phone numbers frequently, you don't need to send email messages or make Facebook status updates announcing your numbers have changed. Just go to the Google Voice settings and update your numbers. Others don't even need to know what numbers you own. Isn't that wonderful?

One word of caution: Choose your number judiciously in the first instance. If you don't like your number you can always change it, but you pay $10 each time you do that.

Try it out and let me know your experience about it.