1. Home
  2. Computing & Technology
  3. Google

GrandCentral - Internet Service to Manage Phones and Numbers

About.com Rating four out of Five

By Marziah Karch, About.com

GrandCentral logoImage courtesy Google

The Bottom Line

GrandCentral is beta software available by invitation only. It still lacks the ability to dial numbers with extensions, which means it will not work well for most business customers... yet.

GrandCentral has a lot of potential, and it is worth it to reserve a free phone number just for use with your home and cell phones.

Pros
  • Give everyone a single phone number
  • Customize actions based on the caller
  • Check voicemail online
  • Get email notification of voice messages
Cons
  • Available by invitation only
  • Cannot dial phone numbers with extensions
  • Beta software which may contain bugs
  • You can only sign up with a US phone number

Description

  • Use a single phone number for all inbound calls.
  • Customize actions for phone calls based on who is calling or the time of day.
  • "Click2Call" to initiate a call from the Web.
  • Integrates with Gizmo.
  • Can be used to screen calls like an answering machine.
  • Offers visual voicemail access for Web-enabled cell phones.

Guide Review - GrandCentral - Internet Service to Manage Phones and Numbers

GrandCentral is essentially a VOIP forwarding service. GrandCentral's premise is that you only need one phone number, and that phone number should follow you around no matter where you move or how often you switch jobs.

If someone calls your GrandCentral number, you can specify that all or some of your phone numbers can ring. For example, you could say that your cell phone will ring during business hours, and your home phone will ring in the evening. You could say that some callers will ring your office phone and particularly annoying callers will hear a "this number is not in service" message.

GrandCentral also provides a central voicemail box that can be accessed from your computer or Web-enabled phone. You can even listen to voicemail as it's being recorded and decide whether or not to answer the phone. GrandCentral will send you an email notification that you've received a message, so you don't have to log into your account to check if you've missed any calls.

GrandCentral is such a convenient service that the only major drawback for US customers is the inability to dial numbers with extensions. It's worth the effort to find a friend with an invitation.

Explore Google

More from About.com

  1. Home
  2. Computing & Technology
  3. Google
  4. Google Reviews
  5. Review of GrandCentral - Google's Tool for Managing All Your Phones

©2008 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.