The Bottom Line
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.
- Give everyone a single phone number
- Customize actions based on the caller
- Check voicemail online
- Get email notification of voice messages
- 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
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.
