Google has started sending out invitations to Google Voice to people beyond the long-time GrandCentral user base. People who requested an invitation from Google are gradually receiving them.
Google also started warning GrandCentral users who haven’t made the move yet that it’s about time to upgrade. (The harsh expression we used in Silicon Valley back in the day was “get on the train or die”.)
GrandCentral founder and Google Voice product manager Craig Walker tweets that it will take “a little bit” to work through the backlog of requests, but at least the process has started.
However, there’s a subtle dilemma here for those who want to do more than just experiment with Google Voice. If you join today, you’ll be given a chance to choose a new number. The Google Voice sign-up process even helps you enter words and see if any available phone numbers match them.
But if you wait you may get a chance to start your time on Google Voice by porting an existing number, such as your cell phone number, to Google Voice. (This is called “inbound phone number portability”.) You may have to pay a penalty to your service provider, and you’ll have to get a new number for your actual cell phone to run on. But you won’t have to re-educate all the people who have your cell phone number to use your Google Voice number instead.
Or, I should say, try to re-educate them. Many people will “not get the memo” and keep calling your cell phone directly. And regardless, you still have to educate people who have your home phone number, and potentially your work phone number as well, to use your new Google Voice number instead.
Google Voice will save some of us so much money on long-distance calls, especially if you make them from a cell phone, that there’s no choice; you need to start using Google Voice as soon as possible. For the rest of us, though, it’s a dilemma. Will you stay on your current setup until you can use inbound phone number portability – or will you go to Google Voice right away?
PS Thanks to Paul for the correction to Craig Walker’s title and role.
I signed up for an invite the day the private beta was released and I still haven’t received the invite. Just goes to show how many people are anticipating this cool service!
Hi Jared,
Exactly! I read that a new wave of people got their invites late last week, but not everyone has done so far. Let us know when you do and what you think.
Cheers,
Bud