As many of you know, PrivatePhone by NetZero will officially end November 19, 2008. This is extremely sad news since I have used this free phone service as a phone number to give out when registering for different websites just in case they decided to spam my phone number. Since the shutdown noticed began in late December 2007, I have been trying to find a decent, reliable replacement. Just recently, I have stumbled upon a new web-based phone service, GrandCentral.
GrandCentral is a free service that is provided by Google. You can pick a phone number from your area code or at least an area code close to your location. After you get a phone number, you can then use this instead of giving out your house number or cell phone number when signing up with different websites. A great way to keep your privacy. The only downside is GrandCentral is still in beta. As of now, you can only join GrandCentral by invitation. This can be from another member who has invitation or by requesting an invitation from the GrandCentral website. I signed up at GrandCentral’s website and hoped for an invitation somewhere in the near future. I received an invite in 2 days. I highly recommend signing up and reserving your spot!
I will give you some background information about the actually service from the user end. When someone called your GrandCentral phone number, they are asked to repeat their name and asked to wait while the subscriber (you) is contacted. The call is forwarded to a phone number you give GrandCentral. This could be any phone number, but it must be valid. You have to verify the number with GrandCentral. You have two options in your account. The phone number forwarded to you phone could either be the actually phone number of the person trying to contact you, or your GrandCentral phone number. I choose the GrandCentral phone number so if I do get a call, I know it is coming from my account, but feel free to do what you please.
This is what happens on your end on an incoming call. You phone rings (with the caller’s number or your GrandCentral number depending on your settings) and you answer the call (if you want). An automated voice coming on and you have a few options. You can accept the call, direct the caller to your GrandCentral voicemail, direct the call to your GrandCentral voicemail and listen to it, or accept and record the call. The options are self explanatory. Furthermore, there are some other cool features you can play around with on your GrandCentral account such as greetings, name recording, ringing options, screening, caller id and phone spam. An awesome service by Google.
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