I finally submitted and am now participating in Google Voice. There was a good post from LifeHacker yesterday which is excerpted here titled How to Ease Your Transition to Google Voice which I would encourage any potential users to review in its entirety:
“…If you still haven’t received an invite or want a clearer picture of what Google Voiceactually does, peek first at our screenshot-packed first look and tips on whether you actually need it…
Be firm: If you want Google Voice to be your universal phone hub, everybody has to call it…Say it’s your new number, and say it’s your only number. For those who don’t follow-up, there’s a next step:
The catch-all voicemail: Call your cell phone voicemail number and head into the options to record a new voicemail. Say that you won’t be retrieving voicemail on it and list your new number…
The stragglers: Some folks just don’t want to edit their contact lists, and others feel like they’ll catch you quicker if they’ve got your direct line. Don’t take their calls. Call them back from your Google Voice number, through the Google Voice web site (explained later on), or by calling your Google Voice number from your standard phone and dialing them from there…
Text message replies: When Google Voice delivers your text messages to your phone, they arrive from a completely new phone number, although with a contact’s name attached if you have it stored…
Call-backs: Unlike text messages, Google Voice doesn’t provide a magic call-back number to avoid re-introducing your “old”/carrier number to contacts…
That slight voice latency: As previously mentioned, there’s a variable amount of audio delay when routing calls through Google Voice. Sometimes it’s hardly noticeable, but other times, you seem more rude than you really are…
Google Voice’s killer app is allowing you to keep one phone number, but have it route to multiple phones the way you want. Here’s how to save money, avoid annoyances, and get more out of Google Voice’s custom calling rules…”
