Got my google voice invite tonight before i go any farther I was wondering if its really worth to use it???
Any question of worth is a subjective matter. I can't tell you if it's worth it to you.
What are the big advantages to it????
However, I can tell you what I find worthwhile:
Multiple phone ring: Coverage is pretty spotty in the skyscraper I work in for any cell provider. I like being able to answer a call to my mobile on my work line and not having to worry about the call breaking up as it tends to. I can also transfer calls from one phone to the other as I see fit -- handy for heading out while stuck in a pointless end-of-the-day teleconference.
Voicemail transcription: Accuracy depends on the caller. For some it doesn't work at all. For some it works well. For the rest (the majority of callers in my case) I generally have a good enough idea of why they're calling so I don't have to sit through their voicemail.
Unwanted call handling: If I don't ever want to hear from someone ever again I can have them go directly to voicemail, have the voicemail automatically deleted and never receive any notification that this ever happened. I can also choose to have a caller receive a number disconnected message.
https://www.google.com/voice: If I'm at a computer I can initiate calls via the PC. I can listen to voicemail on the PC. I can forward voicemail via email though I haven't actually used this for anything yet. I can send/receive SMS. I don't care how great a mobile's keyboard is (and my Blackberry has an excellent one) I'll still prefer my IBM Model M for any typing. If I want a record of conversations I can leave them in the SMS box. If I don't then I delete and purge them -- or else they sit in trash for quite a while.
Number virtualization: Not really a feature but think about it -- if you're trying out a new carrier you don't have to hand out a new number. People just call your GV number and you can answer on the new carrier you're trying out. Or, say your number porting hasn't fully completed yet. Doesn't really matter except for any people that you had calling your number directly (which is why everyone gets my GV number).
Other features that are interesting but I haven't used
Individual as well as group voicemail greetings: Not only can you set a specific greeting for a specific person but you can also set specific greeting for specific groups of contacts: say, one for work, one for friends, one for family, etc.
Call recording: IIRC on inbound calls only.
The info's all out there. Read up and see if any of it sounds useful or interesting to you.
I could add it to my 10 number list that comes with my plan. I don't think my friends would like that, though. All your verizon friends/family that call through google would still have to use minutes (unless they also have the 10 numbers list).
Sounds like a YMMV thing. I don't know of anyone that worries about such things. And frankly, I wouldn't mind if the Scrooges of my family and friends called me less anyway.
