Grand Central from Google Review

http://www.grandcentral.com/

Overall 5.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

chrisnine11
Bethlehem, GA

Get one number that rings all your phones for free

Ebay buyer and seller, Every day computer user, Internet Addict, a busy person, always online, don't like being sick, a pet pamperer, practical

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Pros

Free, Many useful features, Only one phone number to remember

AUG

2008

Grand Central from Google —

If you are like me (and most everyone else in the world) you have at least 3 phone numbers where people can reach you. You have your home number, your cell number and your office number. For some people it gets even worse with multiple work numbers or a personal cell phone in addition to a work cell phone ..... Yikes! Who wants to call 3, 4, or 5 numbers to find someone or keep track of that many voice mails! That's where Grand Central comes in! Now let me quickly say that GrandCentral is in a beta phase. During the beta phase you may have to reserve a number and wait for an invite, instead of getting one right away. But let me tell you how great this FREE service is so you can go ahead and reserve your number now.

Here's how it works. You sign up for a new phone number in whatever area code you choose. Now I know what you might be thinking - "I don't want another phone number" but here is what makes this new number so great. You go online and 'tie in' all your old phone numbers to this new one. That means when someone calls your GrandCentral number your cell phone, home phone and office number (whatever numbers you choose) simultaneously ring, allowing people to reach you no matter where you are - by calling only one number. You can even customize your number further with options, like not having your home phone ring during business hours or sending certain callers straight to voice mail. Another great point to remember is your GrandCentral number will never change. If you move, change jobs or get a new cell phone your GrandCentral number remains the same, so you will never have to notify personal contacts or business contacts if one of your phone numbers change.

There are lots of features that come with your free GrandCentral number.

Call screening - allows you to know who is calling before you take the call. Once you know who is calling you can accept the call, send the call to voice mail or block the caller all together.
Listen In - Just like your answering machine at home, you can listen in on a voice mail as the person is leaving it. You can pick up the call at anytime by pressing the * key. No need to wait until the caller is finished leaving the voice mail - join in and talk to the caller at any time.
Call Switch - Switch a phone conversation from one phone to another. Lets say you take a GrandCentral call on your work phone right around quitting time. Hit the * key and your call transfers to your cell phone. Hang up your office phone and continue talking with no interruption or your caller even knowing you have switched phones. Once your get home hit the * key and transfer the call to your home phone to continue your call.
Call record - Record any phone conversation you choose. This has been perfect in situations where someone is giving me directions, while I am driving and I haven't had a way to write them down. Just hit the 4 key and record!
Block callers - Ever get calls from a telemarketer or sales person? Well, when they call, you now have the option of sending then to a Spam voice mail box that tells them you don't accept that type call or block them, which gives them a "number not in service message. Either way your phone will never ring again if they call you in the future.
Personalized Greetings - Allows you to have a separate personalized message for your mom, boss or friends. You can pick and choose who hears what greetings.
Ring Share - Choose what type ring or sound people will hear while they wait to talk to you. Just like the personalized greetings your rings can be personalized based on the caller.

I have used the service for almost 2 years and have found it so useful. I love only having one number to give to out. My favorite features have to be the Call Switch and Listen In. Being able to take a call on my cell phone while driving home then transfer the call to my landline home phone once I get there is very convenient. I also love being able to listen in on a voice mail, then jump in and take the call if it's something important. I also like how GrandCentral announces who is calling me and gives me the option of taking the call or sending it to voice mail. While I love talking to all my friends and family we all there are times that are just not convenient for a chat - and then again, there are some people that you just don't want to talk to. lol

Bottom line - this is one of the best free services I have ever used, period. It is actually something that I have found very useful and beneficial for both personal and business reasons. While I am frugal this is one service that I would actually pay for in order to use - just don't tell Google that!

Last edited on Aug 09, 2008

Grand Central from Google is recommended by chrisnine11

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Comments about chrisnine11’s Review

WOW. You're kidding me! EXCELLENT REVIEW. I'm actually going to send it to a few of my friends, if you don't mind. I'm giving you total credit, of course. Thanks so much.

I can see this as being very useful for very, very active and busy people. But for the average mom or family, this would just create more chaos though I think the idea is great. Personally, I have enough with just one phone ringing all the time with 3 people in my home.

Great idea and thanks for the review... I am passing this one along to my friends!

Awesome review! I'm not sure I would *like* have both cell and home ringing at the same time though. That could get a little nutty!

The beauty of this is that you could now use your cell phone less! Less minutes and less cancer causing emf waves going directly into your brain.

Which means that in the house, you could turn your cell phone OFF, and rely on your house phone for all your calls! Yahhh!

I either love this idea or it would drive me crazy. It would be good for my husband though who is always somewhere but no one knows where. I think it would be good for just certain things like giving the number to the school or other important places that you absolutely don't want to miss a call from. And bill collectors. Heheh.

I think I might go insane if my home phone and my cell phone rang at the same time and I was just sitting home. lol It is a cool concept though! I can see how it could be useful for some people!