I got an email this morning telling me that Google Voice is now available and giving me an invitation link to get started.
You are invited to open a free Google Voice account. To accept this invitation and create your account, visit
https://(the invitation link here)
If you haven’t already heard about it, Google Voice is a service that makes using your current phones much better!
Here’s what it offers:
A personal phone number that rings all of your existing phones when people call
All of your voicemail in one inbox with unlimited online storage and free voicemail transcripts sent to your phone and email
Low-priced international calling to over 200 countries and free SMS
Other powerful features like the first phone spam filter to protect you from unwanted callers, the ability to ListenInTM on your voicemail messages while they are being left, conference calling and more
To learn more about Google Voice before registering, visit: http://www.google.com/voice/about
Please note that Google Voice is only available for sign up in the US.
We hope you enjoy Google Voice,
The Google Voice Team
Several months ago I had given them my email address saying I wanted to be notified as soon as Google Voice was available for me to sign up, and I was pleased to get my invitation today! You can select your own area code or the area code nearest to friends and family who’ll be calling you. There is a table of rates for international calls, but calls within the U.S. are free. Anyway, I selected my own area code, then I was allowed to enter a few letters or numbers, something that would be easy for my family and friends to remember. I entered my initials and was presented with five screens of available numbers that had those initials in them. I selected a number. Then I was asked for the phone number of the phone I want to ring when someone calls my Google Voice number. Once I did that, I clicked a button to let Google call me, and I was prompted to enter a two-digit code which was appearing on the screen. This way we don’t set up other peoples’ phones as pranks, I suppose. 
So I entered my two-digit code and that was it.
Now when someone calls that Google Voice number, it will ring my cell phone. I get an email telling me immediately each time I have a voice mail, and in my Google Voice Inbox I can see a transcript of the voicemail or play it within the email! As I told you last time, you can select what time of day the phone will or will not ring, designate certain callers as spam, and a host of other cool features. You can add other phones too, of course, for maximum flexibility, so all you need to do is give someone the Google Voice number, then you decide which phone it will ring on, depending on your needs. If you live in the U.S., do get your invite!
{ 4 comments }
Sounds pretty cool- it has a lot of features/ settings. It would be even better if you could keep your existing cell number as the primary number. Otherwise, it’s perfect for someone who doesn’t mind changing numbers, or who is getting a tele # for the first time.
.-= A Vecchioni´s last blog ..Easy to Make Catapult =-.
Yes I wish I’d had it when my kids first enrolled in school so I could have used that as my “home” number for the schools. School would call home when I was at work, or call old cell numbers from jobs I had left long ago – so a Google Voice number would have set me free from worrying about that.
They won’t let you keep your existing cell number, but this really will be a great number to give to people from now on “as” your cell number. Then you can decide later if they get through to your cell, or during what hours they get through.
I wish I got an invite to Google Voice. Thanks for sharing the info with us. Greg Ellison
.-= Greg Ellison´s last blog ..Electrovaya Powerpad 130 Review =-.
Hi Greg – Definitely check it out and give them your email address.. they’ll notify you when you can have it. It is SO nice to have one number to worry about keeping up with.