Google Voice: “Lite” is a Myth — Pick Your Number

Google Voice recently unveiled the new “lite” version of its phone service.  It was warmly received but it is nothing new at all.  In fact, it existed even when Grand Central operated the service prior to Google acquiring it back in July 2007.  The “lite” version is touted as a keep-your-existing-phone-number variant of the service and it is somewhat confusing to some.  You could always use your existing phone number and forward your unanswered calls to Google Voice.  If you sign up for “lite,” you end up with a phone number arbitrarily assigned from Google’s portfolio of phone numbers — in any area code.  You are simply instructed to forward your unanswered calls to the new number and it becomes a voicemail-only service.  Instead, I recommend signing up for the full service because you can choose your area code and even search through the portfolio for numbers you like.

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