Google has been in the news for the last few years with their innovative and enterprising growth in Internet based services. The search engine expert moved from its mastery in Internet search to smart phones and tablets and even towards the education arena by providing Google TV over EDU. Now Google has announced number portability over their web based voice and video chat program. Google Voice was launched in early 2009 to US residents as a telecommunications service.
Google Voice via Gmail provides free PC to PC voice and even video calling, worldwide between users of Google Voice and video chat browser plug-ins available on a wide range of operating systems. In fact PC to phone calls via Google Voice is as of now also a free service in North America. Features like Voice Mail, Voice Transcription to text of Voice Mail Messages, Conference Calling, SMS, Call Screening, Call History Records and many other features make Google Voice an interesting and innovative voice and video based telecommunication service. But Google is as of now not a carrier, although the features provided are almost like a carrier with an exception. You can now port your number but keep the existing carrier service operational.
One of the interesting features in Google Voice Number Portability as it stands today is when you receive an incoming call on a Google Voice phone number. Users having an existing telephone service number, can activate their incoming call facility on the Google Voice phone number. You can also activate additional phone numbers that you expect to ring simultaneously, when an incoming call lands on the Google Voice phone number. You can receive the said incoming call on any of the phones. In fact, you can also move the received call between configured telephones during the call. In fact, you can also set features like disabling a home phone during business hours and routing the calls to a specific mobile number, individual number or a business number configured to ring.
Google Voice allows numerous features like unique voice-mail greetings programmed for a specific caller, call recording and even SMS forwarding. Features like listening to voice mail online or from a phone, forwarding or downloading of voice mails, call recording and online archiving etc. are definitely unique and interesting features that Google Voice Number Portability is offering. However, with the advancement of technology, it is yet to be seen how secure these facilities are and what are the inherent fears in utilizing the same. One of the surprising features is Google Voice permits Voice over IP (VoIP), but if you are a VoIP user other than Google’s services, you are not communicable over IP through Google Voice.
