Hey guys,
Not everyone knows it, but you can use GoogleVoice to get almost unlimited minutes in Verizon's Friends and Family Plan. Awesomely, the GV app also has great texting and visual voicemail! To add to that, there's also an app that logs ALL of your Android calls (regular and GV) to a Google Calendar of your choice!
Here is what I am doing:
Google Voice Initial Setup
Google Voice Free Minutes
Google Voice Texting
Google Voice Visual Voicemail
Using CallTrack to log your Android Calls
Save time with NotCallLog
I hope this helps! Let me know if I missed anything.
Not everyone knows it, but you can use GoogleVoice to get almost unlimited minutes in Verizon's Friends and Family Plan. Awesomely, the GV app also has great texting and visual voicemail! To add to that, there's also an app that logs ALL of your Android calls (regular and GV) to a Google Calendar of your choice!
Here is what I am doing:
Google Voice Initial Setup
- Get a GoogleVoice account here: GoogleVoice
- Set up GoogleVoice with each phone you want to use it for (I have my personal cell, work cell, and office landline)
- Decide whether or not you want people calling your GoogleVoice number: Lifehacker (I have my GoogleVoice set to "Do not disturb", meaning that all calls to my GV number go straight to GVoicemail... I'm really only doing this as a bug doesn't allow me to send my WorkCell calls directly to GVoicemail without "Do not Disturb" being set )
- Download the GoogleVoice app from the Android Market here: Android GoogleVoice on Appbrain
- Open GoogleVoice on your Android phone (Listed as "Voice" in your apps) and configure as needed
Google Voice Free Minutes
- First thing, understand how calling GV from Android works:
- Android doesn't make calls using YOUR GV number, it maintains a database of "Access Numbers" that it calls to dial out to your contacts. To figure out which Access Number your GV uses (area specific), make a call using GV and watch the top of the screen: it will have a white bubble that says: Calling via Google Voice with your access number (i.e. 555-123-4567) on the second line <--What ever number is displayed is the first number you'll want to put in your Verizon F&F.
- On Google Voice's website, you can set the caller ID to display your callers' incoming phone number (if seeing that is important to you), or set it to show your GV number (if free minutes are important to you). Add YOUR GV number in to your Verizon F&F, as well. *Note: If you just want a record of who called, GV's website has a "History" section that shows ALL items, incoming and outgoing, and shows who actually called.
- Use GV whichever way it suits you. Almost all of my actual family and friends have Verizon phones, so I almost always call out without GV as I'm getting free mobile-to-mobile, but when I need to sit on Customer Service for whoever and plan on having a 60+ minute call, I use GV to dial out.
- Pro tip: there is a "Shortcut" you can add to any homescreen called "Toggle GoogleVoice". That switches you between all the various dialer methods (Always ask, Only International, All calls GV, All calls mobile)
Google Voice Texting
- It gives fairly quick notifications, similar to SMS.
- It also integrates with the People app and prompts you to send from Messages or GoogleVoice by default when you go to one of your People and select the "Send Message" link. -- If you check the "Use by default for this action" box, you will always send your texts from the People tab (and presumably from the Favorites widget) with GV.
- Not a lot to say, it is just plain texting that you can do from your phone AND computer.
Google Voice Visual Voicemail
- This is awesome -- I'll never go back to dialing voicemail, again.
- I have both my PersonalCell and WorkCell using GVoicemail
- The GoogleVoice website walks you through the simple sequence forward calls to your GV number -- this probably uses minutes, but (A)So does calling *86 for voicemail (plus you have to go through prompts that SUCK), and (B)I'm not 100%, but I think that having your GV number in F&F makes the forward free.
- My Android phone notifies me when I have a GVM
- I can wait for it to transcribe it, then just read the message. (which has never been great -- I think adding a line to your VM greeting asking callers to talk evenly and enunciate for the transcription would help while possibly creeping your callers out)
- Or I can immediately hit the play button at the bottom of the screen on the phone (Or at my computer!)
- Pro tip: In the main GV screen on Android GV, hit "Menu" then "Settings" and you can choose whether to play the GVoicemails speakerphone-style, or Earpiece-style (for better privacy)
Using CallTrack to log your Android Calls
- I'm not entirely sure you need GV to use Calltrack
- Download CallTrack from the Android Market: Calltrack on appBrain
- Open your Google Calendar (easiest from computer) and create a calendar for your calls (Mine is named GoogleVoice), and give the calendar a sweet color
- Open CallTrack from your apps list in Android and configure your credentials... You may need to open it again or go to settings to set which calendar to use.
- Decide whether or not to write all of your existing call log to your GoogleVoice Calendar (SWEET!)
- Use as normal (It is such a simple app, it just does its job and doesn't bug you)
Save time with NotCallLog
- Download NotCallLog from the AndroidMarket: NotCallLog on appBrain
- Open NotcallLog from your Android Apps list and configure it to send you back to the Home screen instead of your call log to save having to press the Home key, or to keep you from accidentally dialing someone in your call log
I hope this helps! Let me know if I missed anything.