Initial impression of Google Voice

I’ve been a Grand Central user since before Google bought them. But it seemed that GC users were left behind because there were no new features added and GC never went out of beta. Now that Google has finally rolled out several major upgrades and changed the name to Google Voice, I’m excited. Here are my first impressions:

Upgrade experience

I had to wait for the message that told me that my account was ready to be upgraded. In the meantime, I just logged into Grand Central as usual. When the upgrade message appeared on my inbox page, I clicked through.

The upgrade process was easy enough, you’ll get the chance to link your Google Voice account with your Google account. You also have to agree to their TOS and read the privacy policy.

What’s transferred, what’s left behind

Google Voice will migrate your Grand Central number, PIN, forwarding phone info.

Google Voice doesn’t keep your Grand Central call logs and voicemail. If you have any groups or individual greetings in Grand Central, you’ll need to recreate them.

You can still log into www.grandcentral.com to get them.

Export your Grand Central address book

When I logged in to my newly upgraded Google Voice account, I was shocked that my address book didn’t show up. My initial reaction was wtf? But a quick scan provided me with the instructions to export from Grand Central.

Voicemail transcription

One of the coolest features (I think) is the one that transcribes incoming voicemail to text. I called my Grand Central Google Voice number and left myself a message. There are caveats to the transcription: “Results will vary due to background noise, accent or speed of the message.” I think my voice was a little low to be effectively transcribed. Google Voice transcribed 91% of the words in my voicemail correctly. But then again, I kept my voice lowered on purpose – what crazy person leaves himself a voicemail? Some words that didn’t transcribe: seller’s became sellis; worth became worse; place became please. GV may have a tough time with speech impediments, like lisps and stuttering in addition to strong accents.

More info to come

I shall update this post as I use more of the new features. Stay tuned!