Google Readies Release of Voice Application

Google is preparing to launch a voice application that helps consolidate multiple phone lines and voice mailboxes into a single-box service.


Google Voice, which is based on the GrandCentral service that Google acquired in July 2007, provides the user with a single phone number that will ring your home, work, and mobile phones, a central voicemail inbox that you could access on the web, and the ability to screen calls by listening in live as callers leave a voicemail. Google Voice is initially available only to users of the preceding GrandCentral service, but the company plans to release the application to the general public in the coming weeks.


Among its other features, Google Voice provides transcripts of incoming voicemail and enables the ability to search all of the SMS text messages you send and receive. You can also use the service to make low-priced international calls and easily access Goog-411 directory assistance.
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