Will Google Hang Up on Voice? • Hacker News Board

Re: Will Google Hang Up on Voice?

#21

Post by killwhitey » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 6:51 PM UTC

I've been using Google Voice for SMS for years now, and the threading issue is still a constant bother. For those who've never used it, Voice splits messages into different threads, but is completely opaque about how it does this, resulting in conversations with a person split up seemingly randomly.

I got a long text a few days ago from someone that had to be split into three. The first and third part was attached to the previous conversation, and the second part started a new one. No idea why it does this, but the fact that I've been searching online for an answer since 2010 and still don't have one is worrisome.

Re: Will Google Hang Up on Voice?

#22

Post by EvanAnderson » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 6:55 PM UTC

yanw wrote: post #14

rgbrenner wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much money do they make off of voice? I was a (paying) postini customer and they shut that down... So paying them is no guarantee

It's not shutting down, not really: http://postini-transition.googleapps.com/

Postini as we've know it is shutting down. Google is forcing their Customers to move to Google Apps. I have several Customers who have been using Postini for multiple years each and I'm expecting a rough patch when we start being forced to "transition". As of the last "webinar" I attended w/ Google people there still isn't feature parity for the end user-facing portion of the service for those of us who still have on-premise email servers.

Re: Will Google Hang Up on Voice?

#23

Post by agwa » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 7:05 PM UTC

guylhem wrote: post #15

Is there any similar service where an existing GV number could be ported? I was with sipphone client before it turned into gizmo5 and was swallowed. I remember the pains of reconfiguration (hardware ata + sip enabled dect phone + handheld + desktop + laptop ...), and pushing the new phone number to contacts, including the fact that to this day my sip-enabled dect phone at home still can't make outgoing call using GV.…

If you're just looking for a decent SIP service which lets you place/receive calls on the PSTN, take a look at these companies:

http://www.callcentric.com/

https://www.anveo.com/

https://www.voip.ms/

All three are well-established companies, though Callcentric is probably the best. I've personally ported a GV number to them. The service isn't free and you don't get voicemail transcription or a fancy web interface, but it's reliable and very good at making/receiving phone calls.

Re: Will Google Hang Up on Voice?

#24

Post by jeff303 » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 7:11 PM UTC

flootch wrote: post #17

The difference between voice and reader is that while I might pay up to $5 per month for reader, I would be tempted by free alternatives. Voice is world class and there are no competitors that come close for less than $10 per month. (please don't tell Google this.)

I agree for the most part, but lately I have started noticing more glitches with it. In particular, new "generated" numbers are being created for existing contacts in response to SMS, and calls are being dropped from the server when attempting to answer on my cell (seems to work fine if I just disable call screening entirely, which is what I may end up doing).

Re: Will Google Hang Up on Voice?

#25

Post by Samuel_Michon » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 7:14 PM UTC

rgbrenner wrote: post #11

meritt wrote: post #8

No. Google Voice is a paid service (additional numbers, porting numbers, etc). They won't shut it down. They might deprecate the free-to-use features and make it paid only, perhaps. But it will not go away.

How much money do they make off of voice? I was a (paying) postini customer and they shut that down... So paying them is no guarantee

Google gets 95% of its revenue from advertising, so nothing else is essential.

Re: Will Google Hang Up on Voice?

#26

Post by gergles » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 7:24 PM UTC

jaytaylor wrote: post #19

cpursley wrote: post #2

On this topic, what's a good Google voice alternative? Something for business that will ring my cell phone. Preferably a 1-800 # with answering ability and phone tree capability.

Full disclosure: I work at SendHub SendHub ( https://sendhub.com ) will give you a virtual business line (SMS+Voice) for free that you can access from the web or from your iPhone/iPad/Android device. I know we support 1-800 numbers on paid plans, just hop on support chat and they will take care of you.

You guys should make a "Google Voice replacement" plan that is just one line and no grouping but more generous with texts & minutes. I'd pay for it but you guys don't have a plan that is anywhere near this model.

Re: Will Google Hang Up on Voice?

#27

Post by mgkimsal » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 7:24 PM UTC

Andrex wrote: post #9

ConstantineXVI wrote: post #6

A note: if you're on VZW, their (sadly hideous) Messenger app replicates Voice's cross-device SMS(/MMS!) on your VZ number.

Why Google Voice still does not support MMS is dumbfounding to me.

Why something with 'voice' in the name supports any sort of text messaging at all is dumbfounding to me.

Re: Will Google Hang Up on Voice?

#28

Post by rgbrenner » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 7:33 PM UTC

yanw wrote: post #14

rgbrenner wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much money do they make off of voice? I was a (paying) postini customer and they shut that down... So paying them is no guarantee

It's not shutting down, not really: http://postini-transition.googleapps.com/

Yes, I read that page before they shut down my account. They sent it to me repeatedly, saying I needed to move everything to Google Apps. Completely ignores the fact that some features in Postini are not available in Apps; that Apps is several times more expensive; and that Apps includes a range of apps that are completely unneeded (if I wanted Apps, I would have signed up for it instead of Postini to begin with).

Edit: I should rephrase: they did not "shut down" my account. They just informed me I would no longer be eligible to renew my account when my subscription expired.

Re: Will Google Hang Up on Voice?

#29

Post by rgbrenner » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 7:38 PM UTC

Samuel_Michon wrote: post #25

rgbrenner wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much money do they make off of voice? I was a (paying) postini customer and they shut that down... So paying them is no guarantee

Google gets 95% of its revenue from advertising, so nothing else is essential.

exactly. the only service (paid or not) that we can be sure google will not shutdown is adwords.

Re: Will Google Hang Up on Voice?

#30

Post by aleyan » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 7:53 PM UTC

mgkimsal wrote: post #27

Andrex wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why Google Voice still does not support MMS is dumbfounding to me.

Why something with 'voice' in the name supports any sort of text messaging at all is dumbfounding to me.

Why something called 'phone' has a map, a tv, a calendar, an internet browser, and a bunch of games built in at all is dumbfounding to me.

Yet that is the world we live in. Phones are expected to have all these features and phone numbers are expected to be able to accept text messages.

Just two weeks ago I wasted an hour waiting for my friends because GV silently dropped MMS multi-person chat messages sent to me. Not ok.