Google Voice

[Aditya V.K.]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/12/google_voice/

Google is preparing to launch its latest wheeze, Google Voice - a
single number that forwards calls and texts to your phone. It's 21
months since it shelled out more than $50m for phone number aggregator
Grand Central.

The service will be in private beta for a week or two and then
restricted to a US audience, but anyone with a business card that
lists more than one phone number should take note of a simpler way of
doing things.

The concept is pretty simple: Google issues a phone number to the
user, who configures up to six phone numbers to which calls should be
forwarded. Incoming calls trigger all the configured numbers to ring,
enabling the user to receive the call regardless of where they happen
to be.

The idea isn't new - companies such as Yac have been offing much the
same idea for a decade or so - but Google Voice will be free, and
promoted by Google who have already provided videos showing of the
feature set.

Making it free does limit Google Voice to places where Google won't
have to fork out a fortune in call costs - so it's US-only for the
moment. Outside the US calls to a mobile are expensive for the caller,
which in this case would be Google, so the service won't work on this
side of the pond until we get rid of termination fees (and start
paying to receive phone calls).


[more on the posted link]

[Anchal Agarwal]

great idea

--
Cheers,
Anchal