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Google VoiceGoogle Voice is many things, and all of them are potentially great. With an Android phone, you've got the best possible Google Voice experience in your pocket. A Google-made Voice app is installed by default on most modern Android phones, and it can plug itself into your phone in very tight, elegant fashion. Tap it for the first time, and you'll be asked to activate the service on your Google account (or another account, if you'd like). Once your Google Voice account is activated and connected to your phone, you can do a lot of really neat things, depending on which route you take. What You Can Do with Google Voice Google Voice Google Voice offers two plans: one in which you take on a new number in an area code you choose and use that number for all your voicemail, phone calls, and SMS, and another that lets you keep your established numbers, but use Google's services for voicemail. Either way, you'll benefit from setting up Google Voice and using it on your phone. Using Google Voicemail (Keep Your Number)
Using Full Google Voice (Change Your Number)If you go for the full-on new number of Google Voice, and have some or all of your contacts start using it, you get a lot more:
Signing Up for Google VoiceYou've already got a Google Account from setting up your Android phone, so setting up a Google Voice account won't be too hard. Head to google.com/voice from a standard computer browser, then click the big blue "Try it out" button on the right (or something similar). You'll be asked to sign in with your Google Account, then given the choice detailed above: Google Voice with just voicemail, or the full Google Voice number change. If you pick the former, lighter option, you'll be walked through setting up Google Voice with your phone and forwarding your voicemail to go to Google, though you can skip this on your cellphone, as the Voice app can likely handle the technical details itself. If you pick the latter, you'll be walked through picking out a new phone number in your area code—you can even search to make it spell out something you and your friends can remember (241-LIAM, 58B-ILLS, etc.) In both cases, Google will likely need to call the phone you're setting up and have you type in a verification code, so have your phone handy. Setting Up Voice on Your Android PhoneHead to your App Tray (or, as you might remember, your search bar) and launch the Google Voice app, simply called "Voice" in most cases. You'll get an introduction screen, and if you have more than one Google account set up on your phone, you'll be asked which you want to use to connect to Voice with (in most cases, this is your personal account).  Google Voice Intro Screen. If you're using a full Google Voice plan with a dedicated number, you'll be asked how you want to use Google Voice with your phone. The options are likely a bit confusing to newcomers, so we'll briefly explain how Google Voice connects your calls:
Whether you connect with Voice or not, you're still using your actual cellphone voice connection, so Voice won't save you cellphone "minutes"—unless you're using a handy little billing trick, detailed further down. The difference is in the number others see when you dial, and whether your call routes through Google's servers. The main reasons, then, for picking options other than "Use Google Voice to make all calls" are for those without data plans who are frequently away from Wi-Fi, or for those using Voice only for voicemail and cheap international calls. Toggle Google Voice to pick up your missed calls. If you're not quite sure how you want to use your Google Voice number right away, not to worry—there's a quick shortcut toggle you can keep handy on your home screen. Press and hold on an empty spot, select Shortcuts, then pick "Toggle Google Voice." Each time you press the toggle, a screen announcement will show what mode you've just changed to: All calls, No calls, International calls, or Ask each time. Next up, Google Voice will offer to configure your cellphone's voicemail settings, so that all missed calls go to Google Voice and using your phone's voicemail number connects you to Voice. You can skip this process with a button if you've got a particular setup in mind, but otherwise, you'll only have to click one option to choose Google Voice as your voicemail provider. After that, you'll be finished with Voice setup. Note that Voice most often will not launch right away, and that you need to open the app manually before your settings for calling and voicemail are put into place. So go ahead and launch Voice.  Google Voice Option Google Voice and MMSAfter setting up the Voice app with your account, you'll get an option the next time you go to SMS somebody—use Google Voice, use Messaging, or set one of the two up as a default. In my case, I set up Voice as my default, because it's the number I give and call everyone from. If you send a lot of messages with pictures or other attachments, though, you might want to keep Messaging in the mix, as Google Voice doesn't handle MMS (multimedia) messages well—as in, not at all. You can always launch Messaging manually from your App Tray, but if you're all about the MMS, you don't have to pick Voice as your default. Using the Voice App Google Voice Inbox; Voicemail, SMS, and phone recordings Right when you launch Voice, you see your Inbox. It's a combination of your voicemail, SMS messages, and phone recordings, and you can open them, archive them, or delete them, just like email. Long-press on any of the messages, and you'll get a full range of contact options—view their contact, call or SMS them, archive or delete the message, mark it as unread, add a "star" for later finding, or mark the call or voicemail as "Spam." Just like your Gmail or Email app, marking a message as "Spam" means that Voice won't accept calls from that number again, and may warn other Voice users about that number. Hit the Menu button, and you'll get a few options: "Compose," to write a new SMS (though you can also launch SMS messages from the Contacts screen); "Refresh" if you think the app is lagging behind; "Labels" to get at specific filters like Voicemail, Text (SMS), and your archives; "Balance" to check your international calling credits; "Settings" for deeper configuration (we'll detail the options, per usual, further on); and "Help," which drops you into Google Voice's web help pages.  Google Voice Labels "Labels" is an area worth at least one more look. Along with seeing just voicemails or SMS messages, you can also look at your history of calls made through Google Voice—recorded, placed, received, and missed. One nice thing about calling through Voice is that your call history is always backed up online, and while you don't have searching powers in the Voice app, you can still see who called you when, no matter what phone you were using, if you stick with your Voice number. Reading and Listening to Voicemail Voicemail Screen That icon or image in the upper-left corner? Just like anywhere else on your phone, you can tap it to bring up a sub-menu of contact options—email, call, SMS, and the rest. After the details on the sender, phone number, and message time, you'll see a transcript of what Google thinks the caller said. Once in a great while, you'll get a "Transcript not available" message if you're checking soon after the call, or if was mostly unintelligible. In most cases, though, Google gives the call its best shot. Notice the different shadings of gray and black in the words? The more sure Google is of the word it caught, the darker the text. So light gray words are Google admitting it could very well be off, while dark black text seems like a lock. In the example pictured here, my sister called to say the desk couldn't connect her call to my hotel room. The pacing and punctuation are off, but you can see the gist of the message gets through in the text. An "uh, well..." verbal tic turned into Google somehow but, hey, progress! You can see for yourself how well Voice's transcription does—as you play back the message, the word attached to the current audio is highlighted in red. At the bottom are basic player controls—a play/pause button, a marker you can move to "scrub" through the message, and a switch button on the right that changes between playing back on the earpiece for private listening, or (when lit) the speakerphone. Hit the Menu button, and controls pop up for calling or SMS-ing this voicemail sender, viewing their contact details, adding a star or archiving the message, and a "More" option with "Refresh" and "Delete" options. SMS Messages SMS with Google Voice Opening an SMS message shows a simple back-and-forth, chronological record of an SMS conversation. Press and hold on a particular message if you'd like to copy its text, or get a more specific timestamp on its sending. The Menu button options are the same as with a voicemail—call, SMS, view contact, star, archive, or delete. The best feature of SMS in Google Voice isn't on the screen—it's that it's free, archived, and searchable, at least at Voice's web site. Voice App Settings Google Voice Settings Menu Google Voice has a whole lot of settings—not just in the Voice app, but also at your Voice account page. Generally, you set up how you want phone calls and SMS messages routed to all your phones, including your cell, through the Voice settings page, and handle how your Android phones alerts you to Voice messages in these app settings. Let's take a quick run through:
Getting More Out of Google VoiceThe more you look into Google Voice, the more you're likely to keep using it. It's a service with a lot to offer, but neither Google, nor certain intrepid authors, can capture it all in a few textual nuggets. Here are a few quick tips on getting more from Google Voice on your phone and in your phone life.  Add a browser extension for quick desk calling: When you find a restaurant or business phone number you want to call, you don't need to pick up your phone and punch the number in. With a Google Voice extension installed in Google Chrome or Firefox, you can simply click on phone numbers on a web page, then answer your phone when it rings to make the call. These extensions also offer instant SMS and message checking abilities, making them well worth the download for any Voice enthusiast.  Moving an app icon Make free desktop calls with Voice: Your Android handles Google Voice calls just fine. Need to save on minutes, or just like the convenience of headset calling? You can make free, internet-based, Skype-like calls from your computer using free software. I detailed the setup at Lifehacker. Listen to voicemails in Gmail: In your Google Voice settings (on the google.com/voice web page), you'll find options to have your voicemail messages sent to an email address (and SMS, too, though that can be a bit overwhelming). If you're a Gmail user, head to the Labs section of your Gmail settings and search for the "Google Voice Player in Mail" lab. Click Enable, then scroll up or down to find the Save Settings button. Now when you get a new voicemail, you'll get an email that you can listen to, and Voice will mark the message as read/listened to when you do. As you can see, your author is more than a little geeked out about Google Voice, and prefers it to what seems like the old-fashioned voicemail and SMS systems that are the default on most phones. Files22
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