Google Voice

Brief

Google Voice is a cloud-based phone service that provides a U.S. phone number to Google Account customers in the United States and Google Workspace customers in Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the contiguous United States. It was originally launched in 2009 as GrandCentral, but was acquired by Google in 2007 and rebranded as Google Voice in 2010.

Features

Google Voice offers a number of features, including:

• A unique phone number that can be used to make and receive calls and text messages.
• Voicemail transcription, so you can read your voicemail messages like emails.
• Personalized voicemail greetings.
• Call forwarding to any phone number.
• Call blocking to block spam and unwanted calls.
• International calling at low rates.
• Integration with other Google products, such as Google Calendar and Google Contacts.

Updates

Google Voice is regularly updated with new features and improvements. Some recent updates include:

• Improved spam filtering: Google Voice now uses machine learning to better identify and block spam calls.
• New voicemail transcription features: Google Voice now offers voicemail transcription in more languages and dialects. It also supports transcription of group voicemails and voicemail messages with multiple speakers.
• New call forwarding options: Google Voice now allows you to forward calls to multiple phone numbers at the same time. You can also set up different forwarding rules for different days of the week and times of day.

Pros

Google Voice offers a number of pros, including:

• It's free to use for most features.
• It's easy to set up and use.
• It offers a number of useful features, such as voicemail transcription, call blocking, and international calling at low rates.
• It's integrated with other Google products, such as Google Calendar and Google Contacts.

Cons

Google Voice also has some cons, including:

• It's not available in all countries.
• Some features, such as premium international calling rates and voicemail transcription in other languages, require a paid subscription.
• Some users have reported problems with spam filtering and call quality.

Conclusion

Google Voice is a powerful and versatile phone service that offers a number of useful features. It's a good option for people who want a single phone number for all of their calling and texting needs, as well as for businesses that need a professional phone number.

Overall, Google Voice is a good option for people who are looking for a free or inexpensive phone service with a variety of features.