Two years ago, Google purchased a service called GrandCentral. The main purpose of the website was to give users a virtual phone number, and, by adding the numbers of all of the various phones you use on a daily basis (home phone, cell phone, work phone, etc.), you could have that one ‘virtual’ phone number ring all of the other devices you have. The idea was great, but after Google purchased GrandCentral, the service remained stagnant, with no updates or news for a very long time. But, last month, Google unveiled a new service to replace GrandCentral called, you guessed it, Google Voice.

Currently the new Google Voice is only open for existing GrandCentral users (like myself), so, I have decided to give you guys a quick review of the service so you can get a feel for how it works, and whether or not you would like to use it for your own personal use.

To start off, Google Voice has a wonderfully simplified user interface. In some ways, it reminds me of Gmail. On the left of the page is the sidebar, which shows all of your ‘folders’, such as your various voicemail and call folders (Inbox, Sent, Starred, etc.), as well as your Contacts, SMSs, and sent and received calls. The Inbox pane shows all of your activity in descending order (based on the date, like email). Below is a quick little screenshot of the interface.

The most recent interaction, between me and myself (my cell phone) shows up in a threaded sort of view. Basically, using the Google Voice webpage, I sent a free SMS to my cell phone (“Hey, what’s up?”), and in turn replied directly to my virtual number from my phone (“Nothin.”). The fact that the SMS service is both free (for sending and receiving SMS messages online (you need to pay your carrier’s charge to send texts with your normal phone, of course) is perfect for keeping in touch with people without having to spend money on texts on your cell phone. For example, why text using your phone if you are at work and can just use this website? Your contacts can add this number as a secondary mobile line, so it still shows you as the sender, and you can add your contacts accordingly to the website to keep things organized.

Another cool feature of Google Voice is the option to make free local calls in the United States, and low cost international calls. Google Voice (as of right now) gave everyone a $1.00 free credit for international calls. I have not had the opportunity to make any international calls (or national ones as well), but when I do I will be sure to post an update on how well it works. I believe that you enter the phone number on the website, and via the drop down menu that lists all of your phones (cell, home, etc.), will ring that phone and make the connection to the number you wished to call. So, all in all, it sounds like a cool feature.

Finally, I want to talk about voicemails. One of the nicest features of GrandCentral was the ability to have your voicemails recorded on the server, and being able to play them back in any order on your computer (well, in a web browser). Google Voice takes that concept one step further by transcribing your voicemails to text for easy reading and referencing. While the service isn’t perfect, it works well enough to often get the point of the voicemail across. I have not tried this out extensively, but along with the calling feature, I will be sure to make an update once I get a full understanding of how well it works.

All in all Google Voice looks like a great service to use. I can’t wait for them to open it up to all interested users!