Google Voice users...

[OreoGaborio]

Do you even bother with a text plan from your carrier or do you just use Google Voice texting feature?

Does using Google Voice texting often use a noticeable amount of data?


EDIT: Hehe, off topic, but if I wanted to, I could sign up for (720) 722-3782... or (720) RACER-82 Too bad that's a Colorado number.
EDIT2: HAH! How about (682) 422-6746... or (682) GAB-ORIO (Mansfield, TX)
EDIT3: (978) 219-PETE!

[khuygie88]

Do you even bother with a text plan from your carrier or do you just use Google Voice texting feature?

Does using Google Voice texting often use a noticeable amount of data?


EDIT: Hehe, off topic, but if I wanted to, I could sign up for (720) 722-3782... or (720) RACER-82 Too bad that's a Colorado number.
EDIT2: HAH! How about (682) 422-6746... or (682) GAB-ORIO (Mansfield, TX)
EDIT3: (978) 219-PETE!

ummm... so half the reason I use google voice is so that I don't really have to pay for texting. That said, I'm a broke (and thus cheap) college student and spend 85% of my time in areas with wi-fi connections (home or in class or at work on campus). I have a tracfone (pay as you go) that tells me when I receive a text but I have to select the text and open it in order to actually get charged for it. Instead of opening it, I just check it using the Google Voice app on my iPod Touch (connect to wi-fi) or on my laptop with a similar app (being able to actually type out texts is awesome!)

When I'm in a non-wifi area I can just open or send them from my phone.

Long story short, I can't help with either of your questions but I bet some phone forum or the google voice forum-ish area might be able to help.

[Cerberus]

i actually don't use it for much anymore.
I got it to have a publishable phone # that i can dump if it gets spammed too much
what are you using it for and how do you like it?

[OreoGaborio]

what are you using it for and how do you like it?

I'm turning in my work phone soon & going back to "real world" phone plans. Thought it might be useful & using google sms would save me 30 bucks a month.

[NobodySpecific]

I use it for 90% of my texts, and it's great because I can get texts over wi-fi. I have unlimited data, so I haven't paid super close attention, but my data usage has never gone over 2GB with regular pandora usage, so I wouldn't be super concerned about data usage.

Only downfall is no picture messages, and is one of the reasons I keep the $5 a month texting plan, though I will likely drop it at some point.

[OreoGaborio]

ahh... no mms. didn't think of that. Damn.

[tsorfas]

having a little too much fun with this pete?

[NobodySpecific]

ahh... no mms. didn't think of that. Damn.

The rumor is that they are working on it, but I'll believe it when I get to use it.

[ninjachica250]

How does Google Voice work? Ive heard about it when it came out but I never understood how it works? Do you have to have a google/gmail account to sign up for it?

[OreoGaborio]

http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html

[Cerberus]

How does Google Voice work? Ive heard about it when it came out but I never understood how it works? Do you have to have a google/gmail account to sign up for it?

yes.
it gives you a number that you can use as a primary contact number, which can then call..

..you know what?
here:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+does+google+voice+work%3F


(i enjoyed the irony of that..)

[DucDave]

I like Google Voice. I use it so my customers can call that number and reach my two cell phones and my Office Phone. Works well...but, you have to be pretty quick to catch a call before it rolls to voice mail. I also like that it transcribes the voice message and sends an email. It's not always accurate but I can usually get the gist...

[nhbubba]

I got a google voice number for texts as well. I do not carry text plan and generally loath texting, but figured it was worth a try.

Found it to not be terribly effective. I do not look at my phone ever 0.5 seconds, like some I know. So I'd miss 90% of the texts. Also the google voice app integration on my iphone was less than epic. This is part of the reason I missed texts so easily. In the end people just stopped texting me again because I would not respond.

Then apple added the imessage or whatever the hell they call it. So I can now get 'free' texts from any iOS device. Since a vast majority of my friends have iphones.. done deed.

Just the other day I got a message from google that they are going to reclaim my number because of inactivity. That's fine, they can have it back.

[Awesome]

Doesn't use a lot of data. MMS messages won't go through, so you'll have no idea if someone sends you one and you miss it. Contacts will double up, so you'll have two or more numbers depending which number people send your messages too.

My google number is straight outta Compton.

[TheIglu]

I use it for all my long distance calls.

Our cells phone stopped working reliably at the house recently. We don't have a long distance plan on our home phone.

Open GV app, dial number, select home phone, it calls the house, I pickup the phone, hear it ringing the destination number. Works great and is free.

[duey]

Not sure that one can rely much on GV as a main contact number (with the purpose of saving $$$) other than the method Khuygie88 said. But its a great spam/trash contact phone, I use it for CL/forum ads and of course those people you want to be in contact with short term wise.

I can't help much with data usage numbers since I'm lucky enough to be grandfathered into ATT with the unlimited data so naturally I don't pay much attention to that part, but even if I wasn't on unlimited I can't imagine it being too much data used unless you're a txting maniac and/or are away from wifi often.

[RyanNicholson]

I only use it for voicemail, since I got sick of emptying my vm inbox. Now I just get the email with the transcription.

[ThisBitch]

We use it for my husband's business. We have 1 main number and you can set a schedule and choose which phone numbers it forwards to based on the schedule, so when he has someone on call, he can just flip the forwarding to their phone. Its also a great way to let employees keep their phones and you to keep the phone number if they leave.

[KB]

I'm turning in my work phone soon & going back to "real world" phone plans. Thought it might be useful & using google sms would save me 30 bucks a month.

Did you get fired?

KB

[OreoGaborio]

No. Just changing positions.

[Eddie]

Anyone here knows if google voice does call forwarding? Someone I know has his SkypeIn programmed such that calls to his U.S. SkypeIn are forwarded to his cellular number overseas.

[hqp921]

I use it for the Voicemail (integrated into my "actual" number though).

I use my Google Voice number as a "public" facing number, i.e. if I need to give a number to someone in a CL ad, or in any situation where I would prefer not to give away my "real" cell phone number.

I manged to get 7-PHAM-HUNG-7, which is my last and first name. *shrug*

- HP

[NobodySpecific]

Anyone here knows if google voice does call forwarding? Someone I know has his SkypeIn programmed such that calls to his U.S. SkypeIn are forwarded to his cellular number overseas.

That's the primary use of google voice, call forwarding to any different set of numbers based on either time of day or the number that is calling (you can have a customer's number forwarded to your office and your buddy's number forwarded to your cell, or all calls forwarded to your office during business hours). You can also blacklist numbers really easily.

[ThisBitch]

Anyone here knows if google voice does call forwarding? Someone I know has his SkypeIn programmed such that calls to his U.S. SkypeIn are forwarded to his cellular number overseas.

You can forward calls, yes. Not sure about to international numbers, but I think I saw that option.

[hqp921]

Anyone here knows if google voice does call forwarding? Someone I know has his SkypeIn programmed such that calls to his U.S. SkypeIn are forwarded to his cellular number overseas.

You can connect your Google Voice (GV) number to a cell or landline.

So in my case, if someone calls my GV, my cell phone would ring. I don't have it set up to a land line, but I could.

- HP