What To Do First

The first step is to get a Google Voice account. Since the writing of Trevor’s article, Google Voice has been made completely open to the public (US only). So an invite is no longer necessary! Head over to http://voice.google.com and sign up! Once you’ve signed up, choose a phone number, then add your mobile to your account as a forwarding phone. Google Voice will call you to confirm that the number is yours, and you’ll be signed in. Click settings in the upper right corner, then click Voice Settings. Here, you can set up your voicemail greeting, and other cool settings. Your screen should look something like this, except your numbers won’t be blacked out!

Download the app

Now that you have your account ready to go, head on to the Android Market on your phone and search for Google Voice. Once you download and install it, you may want to add it to your Home screen for easy access, like I have below:

Setting up your Voice account!

Now tap the icon, and let’s set up your Google Voice account with your phone. Initially it will prompt you to find out if you want to use the Google account your phone has been set up with. For the majority of users, this will be the case, so its what we’ll go over. If you are a person who wants to use a different account, most of this tutorial will still apply anyway. Now go ahead and select your account, then continue on by clicking Sign In.

Next you’ll need to verify your phone number with Google Voice, so click Next, and the app will quickly verify that the phone number you have the app on is the same as the one you entered as your forwarding number earlier on your computer.

Lastly, you’ll need to choose what calls you want to make from your Google Voice number, as opposed to your normal cell phone number. I choose not to use Google Voice to make any calls, as I use it primarily for its outstanding voicemail services. If, however, you plan on using it to replace your phone number, or mane international calls only, you can select those options. You can also have the phone ask you which number you would like to use each time you make a call.

Setting up Voicemail

You’ll then need to decide if you want callers to hear your carrier voicemail or Google voicemail. I use Google’s as it offers a ton of options my carrier’s does not. The two main ones for me are that Google Voice transcribes my voicemails so I can read them, anywhere, any time. The second is that it allows me to have a more personal greeting, with no random woman telling my callers how to leave a message (as if they don’t already know, people have been leaving each other voicemails for years!)

You’ve now got Google Voice set up on your phone! Whether you’re using it to make all your calls under your new number, or like me, just for voicemail and other services, let us know how it goes!  Also, be sure to let us know what extra features you use, like custom voicemail greetings for groups! Google Voice has tons of features to check out, and Google adds new ones all the time, so let us know what you discover!

Related Posts:

• Apex Launcher Is A Worthy Replacement For The Stock ICS Launcher [Android]
• Tips To Use Less Google On Your Android Phone
• Give Your Android Phone A Mac-Like Dock
• Llama: Transform Your Android Phone to A Fully Automated Bot

Below, I will explain the layout of the site, then get deeper into a few of the main features. There are several other features to this service if you’d like to check them out for yourself here.

The Basics

The simplest explanation of how Google Voice works is this. Give out your new Google Voice telephone number to people. (Unfortunately, yes you need a new phone number.) When someone calls that number, it will ring all of your phones/ phone numbers. If you do not answer the call, it goes into a common voice mailbox.

The set up is really easy and only takes a few minutes to complete. You are asked to enter a zip code, then pick a new phone number, PIN for your voicemail. The next step is adding in your other phone numbers which you can be reached. Google displays a one time numeric code on the screen. You will receive an automated verification call where you are asked to type in the code. That’s all there is too it.

The layout of the homepage looks similar to a basic Gmail account.

At the top left of the page on the homepage, reside two tabs. One says Call, the other SMS (text message). If you click the Call tab, a window pops up with the option to dial a number and have the call sent to the phone you choose. If the SMS button is clicked, it offers to send a free text message right from your computer.

Farther down the left side are the options to click on the inbox, trash, history and Spam. Yup, that’s right, you have a Spam folder for your phone now. (More on that later.) You can also see the contacts, voicemail, SMS and other tabs down the left side.

SMS

The text messaging feature is pretty cool. Aside from letting you send messages via the home page, it also logs them. Inside your inbox, you can see both their text and your reply. This feature may be very useful for a person who sends a small to moderate amount of messages. On the other hand, if you text like most people under the age of 25, you may have a very full inbox when you sign in.

Call Screening

The screening option is something that should have been around a long time ago. When someone calls your Google Voice number, if they arent in your contact list, they will be asked to say their name. When you decide to take the call, you are presented with four options: take the call, send the call to voicemail, send the call to voicemail and listen to the message as it is recorded or record the call. If you don’t have a need to screen your calls, this feature can be turned off in the settings.

Contacts

Since everyone already uses multiple Google apps in every other part of your web experience, it makes sense that Google Voice would be in sync with your Gmail contact list. If you have them separated into groups for personal and business for example, you can set up a different voicemail message for each group. If they are not in a group or even in your contact list, you can have a generic message for these people.

Spam

Okay, in my opinion this one is the second best feature. (I’m saving my favorite for last.) Just like an email, if you choose to, you can select a person or phone number as Spam. From that point on, when they call they are sent right into voicemail.

Voicemail Transcription

That’s right, you did read that correctly… Google Voice will email and/or SMS you a written copy of what was said in the voicemail. If you are anything like me, you dread listening to your voicemail messages; people either leave way too much information, or not enough. In your email or Google Voice inbox, you are able to both read and hear the voicemail. SMS and voice messages can be archived and starred just like in in your Gmail inbox. This feature alone was enough for me to make the switch.

How do you feel about Google managing your telephone needs?

Related Posts:

• How to Install and use Google Voice on your Android phone
• 11 Tips For Navigating The New Gmail Interface
• What You Need to Know About Google Drive
• Create Custom Tabs For Facebook Timeline In Under 5 Minutes!