Giving Google Voice A Whirl

Photo by Dan Shirley

Before there was Google Voice, there was GrandCentral. The big G came around and bought it up, sat on it for a while and only a few short weeks ago, they turned it into Google Voice. I’ve been using GrandCentral for a while and I loved it. Really did. I was pretty sure I’d be happy with Google Voice when they said they were switching everything over but when I logged in for the first time after transferring my account – I don’t know.

You see, I loved GrandCentral’s interface. It was simple, easy to understand and it looked pretty too. But Google Voice’s interface seemed old fashioned and clunky to me. I couldn’t find what I was looking for. But on the up side, the design is more Gmail like which has it’s good points. Of course I love the fact that I don’t have to export or import and do any of that crazy stuff because my Gmail contacts are already in there.

The transcribe voicemail also seems pretty cool. Now I really need to get in there to do some voicemail recording or hire a pro. The call recording is definitely a plus although you can only record calls you receive not ones you place – talk about a wet blanket. However, the ability to call International numbers is nice. I call International more than local. Not sure it will replace my Skype yet but who knows?