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Eerp! There is some wrong info in this thread
First off, you're talking about two completely different things. Google Talk and Google Voice are two totally different things.
Google Talk (or Gtalk) is Google's built in instant messaging app (like AIM, Yahoo Messenger, etc..) which even allows for voice and video as well through the pc browser (and a few other places, like android phone can use the voice option I think) Here is where the other person you are talking to has to have a Google talk account as well (free to any google user)
Google Voice is Google's phone forwarding service. That I believe you were talking about in the first place (phone calls, voicemail, text messaging etc...)
And no, whomever you are texting or calling through google voice does NOT have to have a google voice number (or account) as well, it will work with any standard phone cell or landline in the US and most countries in the world. So no worries there. (well except for trying to send a text to a landline)
As far as dropping your standard messaging plan, to save dough, that is an option but not without some tinkering. You have to send and receive texts through the Google Voice app ONLY, which uses your 3g data connection. You have to turn OFF text forwarding to your cell phone in google settings, as if you don't, google will forward you the text and Verizon will charge you for it.
The problem with using just the app for texts is right now there is a pretty big delay in getting new ones, from 5 minutes to as bad as 2 days sometimes. So to get around that you can set google to forward your text messages to your gmail account, which is pushed to your phone instantly. When you reply to that email, google turns it back into a text message and send it to whomever you were texting... which can be any cell phone you want. No google voice required.
Hope this helps!
For a friend to use it, what about just going in through the google web site?
Eerp! There is some wrong info in this thread
You have to turn OFF text forwarding to your cell phone in google settings, as if you don't, google will forward you the text and Verizon will charge you for it.
The problem with using just the app for texts is right now there is a pretty big delay in getting new ones, from 5 minutes to as bad as 2 days sometimes. So to get around that you can set google to forward your text messages to your gmail account, which is pushed to your phone instantly. When you reply to that email, google turns it back into a text message and send it to whomever you were texting... which can be any cell phone you want. No google voice required.
Hope this helps!
If you log onto to the google voice site.
Then go to settings, then the phone tab and you'll see Forward to: Your Verizon phone #, then hit edit and do it there.
My Question is how do you foward the GV texts to your Gmail???