Google will use it Voice app to make phone carrier irrelevant

Last couple of days, many talks surrounding the rejection of Google Voice App on the iPhone on the Web, at the same. many of my friends start receiving the invitation , I thought I could give some clarification to Google Voice.

Google’s ambition

Google purchased Grand Central and subsequently renamed it Google Voice, similar to many Google apps, the service is free of charge. User can apply for a “for-life” local phone number and from the Web interface, user can set up, so calling to this phone number, will ring other phones (cellphone, work phone, home phone, etc..) with ability to specify time windows, what phone answers for what group of callers, etc.. In case voicemail is invoked, voice can be transcribed to text and emailed to your inbox. Other nice features SMS, and conference call are also available when applicable. Read all the features HERE!

Google is hoping with this Google Voice phone number acting as your main routing dashboard, you will be all set for life and you don’t have to worry about other phone numbers including your cellphone number, despite number portability feature, (moving the same phone number to different carrier), many of us hate to change carrier due to the fact that we want to keep our cellphone number.

In another word, Google Voice is introducing a virtualization environment, where the under-laying infrastructure will become irrelevant. As benefits, Google will be able to harvest all your call information and monetizing from it  as it does best today with its Internet search

Reality

Google’s idea is great if this is the first time you get your mobile phone number, which is not the case for 99.9999% of us. Several challenges arise and we see how Google mitigate them

Switching to new number is always a daunting task whether for home users not talking about business users. Google plans to offer mobile number portability, so you can roll your current mobile phone number to Google. While for home phone number, this should be straight forward, for mobile phone is is not so simple. You have to break your current contract to give your existing number away to Google and get on another contract for a new number to put under Google Voice. 

If you are willing to switch to new Google Voice phone number and let all your contacts know about the change, this sounds great, however when you call them from your existing phone, they will see your existing  phone number, which creates greater confusion. Google suggests  RIM Blackberry or Google Android users to install their Google Voice App, which intercepts incoming and outgoing call to resolve the caller-ID issue, but this solution only applicable on only that 2 platforms for the time being. Other smartphones running Palm WebOS, Microsoft Windows Mobil, Symbian and other phones are left in the cold.

Google did introduce the Voice App to iPhone, but got rejected. Apple and AT&T clearly don’t want Google to take away their relevancy. One might thought AT&T is the one that rejects this app,  ironically, Blackberry users on AT&T network can still enjoy Google Voice App.  Perhaps Apple don’t want their phone to be treated as a dump device/ dump pipe as people call it once you are under the control of Google Voice.  

So now you have all the angle about the Google Voice service, let get the best out of it!

Google Voice App for Blackberry and Android Google Voice to Apple: We are Back! Use your existing Cell phone number as Google Voice number is coming!

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