@speedwell,, did yous till need an invite?

evilleet

sent to both of you, enjoy the service I think it is pretty cool. It works great as a second phone line on my cell phone.

evilleet

@evilleet:
Could you give me an invite as well? My address is: karstetter AT gmail.com
Thanks.

karstetter

I signed up for it at the beginning of October and I love the service. I use it mainly for screening purposes. I can view my call logs and messages from work or home. I have already invited a few people to the service. I work in sales and I give that number to my customers so they can reach me on any of my phones.

I agree with the others...support for SMS is a MUST! and spoofing Caller Id w/o having to log in online to make a call.

Other than that I'm very happy with the service.

knightfox

@dale3h: I had that problem once. It turns out that you have a limited amount of outgoing call minutes in your "account", and when it runs out, there's no warning or anything; just nothing happens when you click "Call". It's no big deal, chat with them and they'll refill the account for free. I think the architecture was set up that way so they could eventually (post-beta) offer it as a paid service, but I doubt they'll make you pay now that they're owned by the Empire.

I've had their service for almost a year, and was subject to the Great Forced Phone Number Change debacle a few months back. They seemed sincerely upset about it and gave me $50 for new business cards, so it's all good.
Other than caller ID spoofing, the thing I'd really like to see is an automatic number-recognition Firefox extension like Skype has, where I could click on any phone number on a web page and the little "Call from?" bubble would pop up. If they solved outbound calling, I'd be willing to pay some very decent money for their currently-free service.

thegf

@evilleet, i'd like one of those if you still have some -> john (a with a circle around it) johneboy(dot)com

j0hneb0y81

@evilleet: I'd love one... email addy is (the same name as my user name here) at gmail dot com

StrangeTikiGod

As others have said, synchronizing contacts and calling out from a phone directly (instead of having to use a computer) are definitely must-have features before a lot of people will use this service. I personally use it just as a second voicemail box, and am usually near a computer (so the outgoing limitations don't matter 100% yet), but one would think Google is at least working on integrating the new common Contact Manager introduced in the latest Gmail revision with other services, including GC.

voyagerfan5761

I have invites, post your email address if you would like one.

evilleet

Derek, could you send me one, pretty please? E-mail me at my username at hotmail.com. Thanks!

speedwell

I have also been using the service for months. Well, the first month I had it anyway. It really did turn out to be just a way to screen calls.

People who knew me got confused as to why I called them back from a different number and friends who formerly texted also found that they ended up just having one more number that they had in their contacts.

Being able to somehow forward texts would be an excellent feature, along with allowing me to call back from the GC number.

For these reasons, I ended up reverting back to the same old method:

Just giving out my cell number and assigning special ringtones for the various groups that needed priority (or avoidance) depending on circumstances.

Matt Stuhff

I have been using it for a month. It works well, but obviously isn't as big a deal if you don't need multiple phones (duh).

My biggest reason for not using it consistently is that a) people can't text message me and b) when I return a call, people end up getting (and using) my other numbers.

For those reasons, I only use the # for people I want to screen.

rkcrawf

I have a few extra invites if anyone is interested.

DerekH

I still have issues with this and other contact lists. There is no common standard and no common synchronization tool for personal contacts. I feel that the mast contact list should answer to the lowest common denominator of all one's services (i.e. Outlook, exchange, WM6, gmail, linkedin, Plaxo, goldmine, etc). I think contact lists are equally important in maintaining as one's personal file backups. What's going to happen when someone sends you a new address or phone number... you're going to have to update it in 10 different locations! I know Plaxo is getting there (not completely, but close), but hopefully Google follows step.

terbeest

I don't know if it's just my account, but it seems that for 2 days now, I am unable to answer calls from my GC account.

dale3h

I have been using the service for many months and have run into 2 large problems:
-Calling out: It is currently impossible to dial out through one's GC number from anywhere other than a computer. It would be nice if they supported a feature to dial someone's number and seem like you are calling from your GC number. A simple text message to the service with the other party's number in the body would work, or a number to call and then, after a beep, dial the number.
(They do have a mobile interface for users with Internet on the phone, [m.grandcentral.com])
-Support for incoming SMS. I have plenty of SMS messages on my phone, but I currently have to give out my GC number for voice and a cell for SMS. Quite ugly.

Something else to note, the GrandCentral Out service, where it seems like you are calling from your GC number, will, at some point in the future, cost money. They give out credit in increments of $3 for the duration of the beta, but that will end. The cost for me is about a cent per outbound call, so the price is really quite low.
Their FAQ on the topic: [www.grandcentral.com]

HMHackMaster

I've been using Grandcentral since June and it is by far the best product since Tivo. Like Tivo, it takes a little explaining for people to understand the comment, but once people start using it, they all say, "Why did I wait so long to try this."

By far, one of the best (but most unsung features) is the ability to transfer calls from my office phone to my cell phone and back again. A call comes in to my cell while I'm in my car on the way to work, as soon as I get to work I just push the * button and pick up the call in the office, and stop using the cell minutes. Or, a call comes in to the office just before I need to leave for a meeting. Again, I just hit the * key, pick the call up on my cell, and I'm out the door. The caller doesn't even know that I've switched phones.

Also great is because the cell phone comes with free caller ID, but the land line doesn't, by using Grandcentral I get free Caller ID just by looking at the cell phone, even though I pick up the call on my land line. Another invaluable service and one that actually saves me money.

Kolshack

we developed this same system in The Netherlands and the UK already about 6 years ago ... www.fixs.nl (Flexible Integrated Access) and www.yac.com

Liquid_Force

I had picked up on Grand Central before it had become Googlized, but I am not so sure now that it is part of the Google Empire. A while back I tried to add another Blogger account, also part of the Google Empire, and they would only send me an authorization password via text msg on my cell phone. Now that the Google Empire wants to expand into the cell phone arena, does anyone know what their Privacy Policy is pertaining to the phone numbers you provide them? Text messaging appears to be the next target for spam and telemarketers. And if you are doing business with a company, are they exempt from the "Do not call" list?

ph0sfeen

Agreed on all counts of supporting SMS (forgot to include that in my wish list). That's probably the most annoying missing feature. Also, caller ID spoofing with the GrandCentral number (like amorde suggests) would also be huge.

Adam Pash, LH Senior Editor

I'm sure glad I signed up for it back when it first came out. A buddy of mine has it on his T-Mobile phone and gets 99% of his calls for free using the "MyFaves" feature. He just gives out his grand central number and it is on his "faves" list, so he gets his calls free.

Nifty.

othium

@amorde: i agree on both accounts!

i have grand central...i love it - i work for a cell phone company and they give us a company cell phone, and they want us to give that number to customers. yeah...no. i give the grandcentral number and if they call me too many times, i'll have it set so where the "disconnection" message plays. its great.

creepshowbabe

Love the product, but I wish it would spoof caller ID with my grandcentral number. That way, when I call people from my cell phone, the number shown would be the grandcentral number. Otherwise, people won't know who's calling them. Additionally, in this SMS text craze days, I wish the number would accept SMS messages. That way, people who text me at my grandcentral number.

amorde

Wake me up when this thing supports SMS.

dep

@diggity: If you use the click to call feature in GC, it would display your GC # in the outgoing callerid. Also, you can block your number - most cellphones have a "do not send id" mode. And you can do it on a per call basis on landlines (usually by dialing *67 first - I don't know about business landlines though), And I think you can request blocking from your phone service provider as well..

nan

The only thing holding me back is the locality!
This looks like it should be the most used site in the modern world, convergence and ease of use will surely win through, the cash boost from Google will go a long way.
The UK is waiting...
I think you can hide your number using a code (try it first! #31# in UK)
[in.answers.yahoo.com]

neal whitehouse piper | whiper

number portability + Grand Central = The holy grail. If you could port any of your existing numbers to GC it would remove the biggest hurdle to widespread adoption: updating all of your contacts with a new number.

Per the FCC, you can port POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) numbers to cell numbers and vice versa. Its just a matter of GC getting the regulatory OK to receive ported numbers.

wlcrm

i signed up for this a few months back before google bought it up. its pretty useful i suppose for some, i havnt really touched it. the downside for me was having to change your number. maybe they've changed that.

ronnsprocket

I love GrandCentral. As another person noted, I wish you could set up more granular schedules based on time. It does let you specify that your home phone will not ring during business hours. But most people want their phones not to ring in the middle of the night.

I'd love if it could do SMS as well. I still have to give out my cell number for people to text me. Also, if you have GC ring a phone you share with someone, another GC number cannot also ring that number. For example, if you set up GC to ring a home phone, your roommate/wife/friend/mother can not also use GC to ring that shared phone. I asked them about that issue, they are working on it.

appleturnover

@diggity:

On my T-Mobile RAZR, I can stop caller ID from being displayed on a per call or all call basis.

Menu -> Settinge -> In-Call Setup -> My Caller ID

Hedgy2136

I have GC and love it, but the only thing that's keeping me from handing out my GC number is the outgoing call issue. When I make a call from my cell phone, home phone, or office phone, that number shows up on the caller ID, not the GC number. This makes it very difficult to maintain the phone # secrecy I was wanting this feature for. Sure, I can surf to the GC mobile page on my cell phone browser and call from there, but it's such a hassle, I'd rather not. They need to come up with a way to dial from a phone's internal address book (for cell phones) and mask the number as being from the GC number.

diggity

US Only.

Bah.

Avengelist

By the way, when you get an account, you also get 10 invites to share with friends or family. Not too sure if it's wise to post them on inviteshare because your personal details are sent to the invitee.

Hedgy2136

Grand Central is currently in private beta, but you can sign up for the beta program. I did and recieved an invite about a week later. Also, some features are giong to be charged for in the future, I read somewhere that all the bells and whistles will run about $10 per month. They don't say yet which features are "premium", but some of them won't be very hard to figure out.

I think my favorite feature is ringing multiple numbers at once. I get really annoyed when folks ring my cell number when they know I should be at home or at my desk. Now I'm not wasting cell minutes.

Hedgy2136

I use Grand Central and love it. If you need an invite, check out inviteshare.com.

burnmp3s

Can you define rules around a schedule? Ex: I don't want my cell phone ringing at 2 AM no matter who is calling.

jeff303

i use this. its cool.

babaki

I love Grand Central. I hopped on a number the very second that I heard the rumor that Google might buy them. Prior to that I hadn't heard of them at all.

After looking, my hope was that there could be tight integration with Gmail contacts and that the voicemails could actually be forwarded to my email and not just a link to it. After using it for several months now I don't really care how integrated they become. I am happy with what I have today.

I now use that Grand Central number as my cell number. I don't have to come up with some bogus reason why I won't give out my cell number. I give it to anyone that asks and I can decide which phone rings when that person calls. THAT feature right there makes this service worth every penny that I pay. Errr, wait....

dualsub2006

Yeah, some mention that it's US-only in the article would've been nice...

Binks

*sigh* Stupid borders.

jackquack

@diggity - I agree totally. i'll be managing too many #s as others will see them anyways. also, the issue of others not being able to text me at my GC number makes it not worthwhile.

lastly, does anyone have any scoop on what the pricing model will be? I'm afraid people will get hooked, then will have to pay for it. I've heard things like that about CallWave.

qrius

My big complaint with GrandCentral (aside from the other issues mentioned earlier, such as lack of SMS and limited outgoing call support) is the lack of support for extensions/PBXes. Those of us who don't have a direct-dial number for one of our locations are out of luck.

This makes it a deal-breaker for me to be used as anything but a call-screening tool.

dphelan

I would like an invite too! jerryjjansen AT gmail.com
Thanks!

jjjansen

I started using GrandCentral about 6 months before Google bought it. It's FANTASTIC. I love having a really easy number and being able to give that out to people instead of my direct cell phone.

In terms of SMS, I just wanted to point out that you could add an email address to your frequent contacts of their SMS email (ie 5555555555@vtext.com or whatnot) and respond via SMS.

In their FAQs, they write, "We're not compatible with standard text message services (yet)" Hint, hint.

Although the interface is slick (lots of AJAX), it's not snappy. I wouldn't go so far as to call it bad, though.

And finally, my friend uses it to call his partner in Canada. For free.

I also have 10 invites left.

bachfan23

@evilleet: I'd like an invite too. Please email my username at gmail dot com. Thanks!

jabbrass

US-only statement not entirely true. I have a US-based GrandCentral number but it forwards to my Canadian cell just fine meaning my boys in Florida can call me as a local call. GC is truly disruptive tech.

5cents

GC rocks because I was unwilling to change my cell phone number, but I moved across the country. I only gave out the GC number to prospective employers.

Masokist

Judging just by the number and depth of comments, GrandCentral is a hugely popular concept, and should create some pressure on telco incumbents. I've had a GC account since before GOOG, but haven't used it extensively for some of the reasons above (giving existing contacts a new phone number, getting too entrenched with it before knowing what will be charged and for what services, potential privacy concerns, etc.)

Number portability and SMS would really make it killer. Maybe the spoofing could be accomplished by dialing a special GC number which would recognize your Caller ID and do the proper spoofing. Better than blocking Caller ID as some people won't pick up blocked calls.

Logical Extremes

potentially a great service... what keeps me from using it is the inability to auto-answer a call. when i have GC ring my cell phone i want to just hit the answer button on my cell and start talking to the person calling me. i don't want to have to listen to the GC robot telling me who's calling. i emailed them and asked if it was possible to turn the notification off and they said no. too bad... would be an awesome service otherwise.

SirKeats

As with the others I've tried this and a few things holding me back from using this for my "one number to rule them all".

- Outgoing number still shows as each device - this confuses people.
- Lack of number portability to GC.
- Unclear future pricing structure.

However great service, especially for someone starting on their own who wants to have a free number (GC+Gizmo).

ddrager

I've been using GC ever since Google acquired them and I love it.

Like many others, I wish that it would handle SMS. Also many of my callers call from offices where their number isn't displayed, so it is a little annoying getting all these "anonymous" calls, but that isn't really GC's fault.

A unified contact list or the ability to sync with Plaxo would be nice.

I know that Google has something up their sleeve because I tried to make a "voicemail" label in Gmail and I got a "reserved keyword error."

I love GC!

beau.raines

I would like invite to ss_user_name at hotmail.com pleeze ?

my username is split into two using an _

TYIA

roadrage

Would someone mind sending me an invite at my username at gmail dot com? I really want to check this out.

VaMPKiSS1

I use it to avoid paying for a landlines service, I DSL so I have the cheap no calls included line. This means I get free unlimited incoming calls. I have an old wifi palm pilot (instant on) I click it on surf to GrandCentral have it call my landline number (free incoming call) then I answer and it calls who I asked it to.
It's not flawless some automated services (tech support) don't always answer or accept the numbers. But to get a comparable service (free unlimited local calls, free unlimited long distance) would cost anywhere from 35-55 a month in my area. Plus I get all the cool gadgets like call transfer and listen in.

meoip

I wish they'd allow you to receive your calls via email as MP3s or other audio attachments, like Netzero's similar free service (which, while it has a HORRIBLE interface and is sort of crammed into their email UI, does a lot of what Grand Central does, and has done it for a lot longer).

This would also have the benefit of letting non-hearing folks get voicemails (you can run simply speech > text app on your machine that turns it into text).

hewn

OK, I've been using GrandCentral on and off since I initially read about it on Lifehacker. The two main reasons I don't use it all the time, as others have said are:

- no support for SMS (yet)
- unsure how minutes are charged*

* Here's what I mean: My mom and I both use Verizon. Lets say my mom calls me from her cell phone. She calls my cell phone via GrandCentral. Does this count as "in-network" free minutes, or is it outside the network since it is via GrandCentral?

ahempton

I've been using it about a month and have the same issues as other folks.

1. SMS - there's just no point in giving this as a cell number when no one can text me.

2. Beta - until I know what will be free and what won't be, I hesitate to give this out as my One True Number.

3. Portability - If I could just use one of the numbers I have already, I'd be halfway there.

But I have been trying to give this out as a mock cell number as an experiment because I have a Virgin Mobile cell and people never get the concept that it costs me money when they call me on there. "Oh, I knew I could reach you no matter what here." Or that I don't get service at work. Then I have to remember to check messages. If it weren't for the SMS issue, I would just tell everyone, "this is my cell number."

I also have a T-Mobile BlackBerry with data plan only and if this all works out, I'll just add a MyFaves plan ($10 more than what I have now) and get free calling all the time, enabling me to lose the VM phone. The fact that you can just go to the GC mobile page and call from there means everyone will see my GC number, solving that problem totally. I could ditch my landline for everything but a dial tone and DSL. Of course, then I'd really have to get people to use the GC# and not my home phone number because I'd lose Caller ID.

But again, this all depends on what Google ends up charging and what it covers.

MagicJewball

Another feature I like is that you can transfer calls from one phone to another. I have yet to use it, but I have the GC number going to my cell, my blackberry and my cell. If I get a call at my desk and then want to leave, I can transfer the call to my cell and walk away from the desk.

If you haven't gotten an invite yet, go to inviteshare.com.

tvjames

Wanted to test this service out and asked for an invite at the GrandCentral website. Had one in less than 12 hours.

Obviously this is still in beta, so I don't plan to use in a "production" environment (i.e., tell everyone to throw out my old number), but the prospect of "free" incoming VoIP in concert with Gizmo is intriguing...

tonyshangrila

I sent an e-mail to Grand Central support with my question regarding the mobile to mobile cell phone minutes and their response is interesting:

Your mobile to mobile calls will no longer fall under that category, since your mobile buddies will no longer be dialing your Mobile number but instead they would dial your GC number to contact you. So for them it will no longer be a mobile to mobile call. However if you have your GC account settings to show the caller id of the person who is calling you, then you can continue to enjoy the mobile to mobile calls. This will happen because even though people are calling your GC number to contact you, your cell phone will show their mobile number on your caller id and not GrandCentrals number. So your mobile company still thinks it's a direct mobile call from that person's cell phone to yours.

So good for me, bad for them. As long as they aren't on my family plan.

ahempton

If anyone still has invites to share, I would like one. You can email foder13@gmail.com. And thanks.

foder13

I have been on G.C. several months. I would use it more but I dont really want to change my number. I wish you could port in that and limit call after I am in bed. Good Article Adam, nice name too.
Anyone notice the call screening till functions after you turn it off??

@Soul_Grind --No i have no Idea what thats like. US ROCKS!
@AHEMPTON
Set G.C. To display the callers # in the caller id settings, not Grand Centrals #. This is how the mobile to mobile minutes work is by caller ID. That is displayed.

adam33777

I am sure this is true of most businesses, but I think this has a huge application in the real estate business where agents typically have a tough time with the blurry line between personal and business time. This is the first time I have heard of this technology and I am stoked.

Also, if anyone has an invite available, I would greatly appreciate it. jljones at gmail dot com . Thanks.

jocristian

Grand Central is tight! I just wish I could port in my cell # to them. I registered online and a few months later I got an invite. In fact you can invite friends once you get a number. FIRST 3 PEOLPE TO POST TEHIR EMAIL WILL GET AN INVITE FROM ME RIGHT NOW.

adam33777

If someone has a free invite, please send to "bpbenda@yahoo.com". Thanks.

bpbenda

I use GC, and like it, except that I've run into a new problem: it doesn't work with the iPhone. The full site needs Flash (no go on Mobile Safari), and the Mobile site teases you by launching QuickTime and then displaying a speaker with a line through it.

Sure, you say, but you've already got Visual Voicemail!

khiddy

If anyone has an available invite and would like to share the wealth, I would gladly accept one! I have been casually trying to snare one for a while now but I guess I don't know the right people. My email is my lh username at gmail.com if anyone would consider it. Thank you.

hoplow

@evilleet: can you give me an invite? my email is bscheema AT hotmail.com. thanks.

bsingh6777

may i have an invite? charles[at]vento.cc

vento

I have been toying with GC for awhile now. Like others I hesitate to give it out until I know what they will be charging for. I have been thinking this would be a great spam phone #. Go to apply for credit give'em your GC number and you control what will and won't ring your phone's.

admiral70

What is with the settings, there is no update or save button. WTF? I can tell it is accessing the web when I check the little boxes, but that is bullshit.

adam33777

@adam33777: I noticed that. I think it has something to do with making a modeless interface, not bothering the user with save, cancel, OK, etc. prompts. Yes, they have such a button in the contacts, voicemail, and many other places, but they don't want to bother you with settings, I guess.

voyagerfan5761

Would like to request an invite please. fibemail@gmail.com Thank you.

SirWabbit