Hobby Phone - Save Money!!

[being_anon]

I read a lot of people using hobby phone to be discreet, specially providers


Well there if google voice to make free calls, sms etc at NO COST. I can help anyone if they find this difficult to set up.

easy done...specially when you get your own local number

P.S : A help to fellow mates from an Indian IT geek

[Mssppislm]

GV is a great tool but it is by invite only.
The invites are extremely slow.

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


One may be better off purchasing a GV invite from sites like EBay for around $2.

[cheatercheater]

Doesn't the google number just forward to your regular number? Means your regular phone still rings?

[Adonis]

Originally Posted by cheatercheater

Doesn't the google number just forward to your regular number? Means your regular phone still rings?

Yes but you have excellent controls on the Google Voice website. It stores your voice mail, text, and call logs online too.

[Mssppislm]

Originally Posted by cheatercheater

Doesn't the google number just forward to your regular number? Means your regular phone still rings?

You can unforward it when you are not using it.

[PSD]

Hey BA,

I come from the telecom world myself, but I havent had the time to look into the pros and cons of GV...

Care to expand on things for us?

PSD

Originally Posted by being_anon

I read a lot of people using hobby phone to be discreet, specially providers


Well there if google voice to make free calls, sms etc at NO COST. I can help anyone if they find this difficult to set up.

easy done...specially when you get your own local number

P.S : A help to fellow mates from an Indian IT geek

[cheatercheater]

I have had the google number for a while now and never used it all that much. Now I have a better understanding of the whole concept. I never realized all the controls available and that it can be taken off when not in use.
Thanks!

[being_anon]

i use it for sms and its pretty cool tool to save some bucks..i've got few invites with me if anyone wants...
regd calls..u can make it fwd it to ur phone or just choose to ignore it...
i do it with my convenience..jst a click away..

well pm me ur email id if anyone wants the invite

[being_anon]

@PSD : if ur frm telecom world then i would suggest you to read about it coz theres a lot to explain about and my words minght not suffice
any particular ques if i can ans..i would try

[tonkatoy]

I have had a google number for quite awhile as well and haven't really used it much yet. Guess with all of the controls it could be used discreetly. The fact that it goes through google kinda scares me though since they pretty much store everything!

Originally Posted by cheatercheater

I have had the google number for a while now and never used it all that much. Now I have a better understanding of the whole concept. I never realized all the controls available and that it can be taken off when not in use.
Thanks!

[OldGrump]

I'm NOT from the telecom world and am wondering if your cell phone needs data services to function with Google Voice?

I just won a hard fought battle with AT&T over their desire to charge me $30 a month extra for data services I don't want, need or use just because I have a Blackberry. I ONLY use their services for voice and text. I do sync my contact manager calendar with it via USB but that has nothing to do with their services.

I think all the major wireless providers apply this charge. They have the ability to tell exactly what phone you are using and should certainly be able to tell if you are using services that incur an additional charge. Instead, they charge you for what you own. What next, what you are THINKING of owning?

I'll get off my soapbox now & view something pretty.

[Black Sedan]

Originally Posted by OldGrump

I'm NOT from the telecom world and am wondering if your cell phone needs data services to function with Google Voice?

No, but it's more convenient to initiate a call if you do - because a Google Voice dialer replaces your built-in dialer.

Without it, you need to dial your google voice #, either auto-login to your voicemail or punch in your pin, press 2, and then the number you want to dial.

Most of the phones with google voice dialers integrate in with your phone book list to avoid all that cumbersome junk.

I used to have a Nextel phone with free incoming minutes: when I used google voice to initiate calls, rather than dialing my google voice number: calls were done with free minutes all day long.

One handy feature is you can start a call, and then transfer it to another phone. Start it on a landline, transfer to your mobile, and back.

Using a Google Voice Dialer on your phone requires sending data via the internet to google to initiate the call. Even if you had a pay as you go data plan, it doesn't add up to much usage. Why? The call itself is not on the google network as a VoIP call until it leaves your carrier's network. This means calls apply usage towards regular minutes as any other local call would, and not towards your data usage.