Google Data » Michael Bolognino

Port your existing mobile number to Google Voice

Michael Bolognino — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:00:00 +0000

867-5309 could be one of the most iconic phone numbers of all time, but it’s not the only number that a lot of us remember by heart. Many of us have a phone number that we've shared with family, friends, and contacts over the years and are reluctant to let go.

One of the most frequent requests we hear from people who use (or want to use) Google Voice is that they’d like to get all of Google Voice’s features without having to give up their long-time phone numbers.

Today, we’re excited to announce that Number Porting is available for all existing Google Voice users. This means you can make the mobile number you’ve always used your Google Voice number, so it can ring any phone you want—or even your computer.

To get started with Number Porting, log in to your Google Voice account, visit the Settings page and click on “Change / Port” next to your Google Voice number.

Porting your number to Google Voice costs $20 and is usually completed within 24 hours. You may incur additional charges, including early termination fees, from your wireless carrier. Contact your carrier to get more details about the charges applicable to you.

After porting your number to Google Voice your mobile service plan will be cancelled, and there are a couple of steps that you’ll have to take to continue making and receiving calls on your mobile device. For more detailed instructions on how Number Porting works and to find tips for making the process as smooth as possible, visit the Google Voice Help Center.

Number Porting is currently available for existing Google Voice users and will become available to new users within the next few weeks, and at this time, Google Voice is available in the U.S. only.

Posted by Robert Dong, Software Engineer

Update (1:15PM): Included more details about the porting process.

How a Google Voice text saved Christmas

Michael Bolognino — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 20:15:00 +0000

My boyfriend and I traveled from San Francisco to NYC to visit my family for Christmas and meet my newborn niece for the first time. About an hour after takeoff, he started frantically checking his pockets, jacket and bags, only to discover that he had left his driver’s license at the airport.

This presented us with what could have been a major headache when trying to get through security on our way home.

Thankfully, his sister was staying at his apartment and had access to his passport. But she was leaving to drive to their mother’s house that morning, so contacting her couldn’t wait until we landed five hours later.

That’s where Google Voice came in.

We fired up his laptop, connected to in-flight wi-fi (which happened to be free), logged into his Google Voice account, and sent her a text message. Thankfully she hadn’t left his place yet, so we texted her my parents’ address and she headed to the UPS store to have it shipped overnight—and it arrived on our NY doorstep in no time.

Crisis averted thanks to a text from 35,000 feet in the sky.

If you would like to send free text messages from the sky (or comfortably on the ground), log in to your Google Voice account and click the Text button. You can enter a phone number or start typing a name from your Contacts to auto-populate the name and number of the person you are trying to text.

Posted by Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager

How to send chats (and 50 other things you might want to teach your parents)

Michael Bolognino — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:12:00 +0000

When I first saw a green dot by my dad’s name in the chat box, I was excited to finally be able to chat with him rather than pick up the phone or send an email. I messaged him a few times, but never got a response. It wasn’t until I went home for the holidays and asked him why he never answered that I found out that he always saw my messages, but really had no idea how to go about sending or responding to chat messages them.

With a bit of tutoring and practice, my dad has become quite the master chatter, messaging me at all hours of the day, telling me to go to bed at night and asking me if I’ve gotten enough sleep in the morning.

We at Google love using technology in our daily lives and want to share that with our loved ones so we can connect whether we’re right next door or hundred of miles apart. TeachParentsTech.org is a site we’ve created to send basic how-to videos to our families. Here’s a video I created on how to use chat:

For more videos or to send videos to your loved ones, visit TeachParentsTech.org. Have a safe and happy holidays!

Posted By Allen Huang, Associate Product Manager

Google Voice app now supports iPad & iPod Touch

Michael Bolognino — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Since we launched Google Voice for iPhone a few weeks ago, we’ve been hard at work to add a few improvements that didn’t make it into the first release.

At the top of the list was adding support for iPod Touch and iPad. Starting today, you can download a new version of Google Voice that lets you use all the features of the app on these devices, such as sending and receiving free text messages - except, of course, make cellular calls.

While you can’t use your iPod or iPad as a phone, you can use it to initiate Google Voice calls with your phones. We call this feature Click2Call. Simply click any ‘Call’ button in the Google Voice app on your iPod or iPad and then select which of your phones you want to ring. Google Voice will call your phone and then connect your call.

While we were at it, we also made a few other improvements to the app:

When you enable Push Notifications, we will automatically disable Text forwarding for you, so you won’t receive multiple notifications.
Want some quiet time? You can send all callers straight to voicemail by turning on Do not disturb in the Settings tab.
We made it easier for you to place calls from the address book by adding a dedicated Contacts button to the Dialer tab.
Sending text messages is now more streamlined since you don’t need to press the OK button anymore.

Bonus Tip: Tap and hold messages in your inbox to archive or delete them.

The Google Voice app is available to download from the Apple App Store today. You’ll need an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch with iOS 3.1 or later and a valid Google Voice account to use the app. At this time, Google Voice is available in the U.S. only.

Posted by Marcus Foster, Product Manager

How to choose a new phone number (and 50 other things you might want to teach your parents)

Michael Bolognino — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:54:00 +0000

With two grown children, my mom decided that one perk of empty nesting (in addition to a lack of teenage angst and a lot less laundry) was canceling our complicated family cell phone plan. When she signed up for a new plan, she also mistakenly signed up for a new phone number. This new number, for whatever reason, was one she could never remember (“too many 7’s” she insisted).

With Google Voice, my mom can choose a new number by selecting an area code and then searching for numbers or words that she likes (and can remember!) to make up the remaining 7 digits.

To help my mom (and family members) everywhere, a few of us at Google created a website, TeachParentsTech.org, where “kids” of any age can send how-to videos to moms, dads, uncles - whomever! Here’s a video I made that walks you through how to select a new phone number with Google Voice:

To browse through all of the videos or to send a tech support care package to your family, visit TeachParentsTech.org. Have a safe and happy holidays!

Posted by Lauren Fraley, Google Voice Consumer Operations

How to choose a new phone number (and 50 other things you might want to teach your parents)

Michael Bolognino — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:54:00 +0000

Santa’s calling (from his Google Voice number)

Michael Bolognino — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 22:37:00 +0000

Growing up, December was always a favorite month of mine. School would let out for two weeks, snowflakes would start falling and I’d write my letter to Santa to remind him that I’d been especially good that year (and ask if he’d mind bringing me a few Ninja Turtles). He never answered those letters—he’s a busy guy, after all—but what if he could pick up the phone and call me instead? What if Santa had Google Voice and could easily call all the kids on his list?

Well, this year he can—with your help. If you know a kid (of any age) who’d like to hear from Santa, create and send a personalized phone call from the jolly man in the red suit himself at sendacallfromsanta.com.

There are hundreds of options to choose from, so you can send unique, customized phone calls to anyone you know, from your nieces and nephews to old college friends, over the phone (to U.S. numbers only) or via email, Facebook or Twitter.

If you or your kids have a special request or message for Santa, you can leave him a message at his Google Voice number: 855-34-SANTA. Although he’s too busy to return messages himself, you can always create one on his behalf at the Send a Call From Santa site.

Ready to spread some holiday cheer? Listen to a sample message, and visit sendacallfromsanta.com to send a message of your own.

And don’t forget—if you want to keep up with Santa as he travels around the globe delivering presents on Christmas Eve, you can track his journey on Google Maps, on Google Earth with the plug-in and on your mobile phone, too.

Posted by Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager

Santa’s calling (from his Google Voice number)

Michael Bolognino — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 21:53:00 +0000

Call credits for military families this holiday season

Michael Bolognino — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Keeping in touch with family during the holiday season can be challenging for anyone, but it’s especially difficult for military families with loved ones serving around the country or overseas.

Gmail’s built in video chat and free calls to the U.S. and Canada can help keep friends and family in contact regardless of how far apart they may be. To make staying in touch this holiday season even easier for military families, we’re offering a $10 calling credit to help them reach their loved ones serving abroad.

These international call credits can be used to make calls with Google Voice or from right inside Gmail, and will provide families with roughly 30 minutes of call time to Afghanistan, 60 minutes to Iraq, or hundreds of minutes to many countries in Europe and around the world.

To make this possible, we’ve partnered with Blue Star Families and Sesame Street, two organizations dedicated to supporting service members and their families.

Photo by Sesame Workshop, 2010

To be eligible for $10 calling credits, military family members must:

Be a member of either Blue Star Families or Sesame Street Family Connections — registration is free for all military families
Provide their Gmail address
Enable calling in Gmail and accept the terms of service OR have an existing Google Voice account
Complete the registration form by December 22, 2010

We recognize the sacrifices military family members make when loved ones serve abroad, and we’re proud to help make it a little bit easier for families to stay connected over the holidays.

At this time, Google Voice and calling in Gmail are available in the U.S. only.

Posted by Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager

Welcome, Google Apps users!

Michael Bolognino — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:01:00 +0000

Google Apps recently launched an improvement that made dozens of exciting Google services available to Google Apps users for the first time. As part of this launch, Google Voice is now available to our Google Apps users for free with their Apps accounts.

Google Apps is Google’s suite of cloud-based messaging and collaboration apps used by over 30 million users in small businesses, large enterprises, educational institutions, government agencies, and non-profit organizations around the world. If your organization hasn’t gone Google yet you can learn more about how to lower IT costs and improve productivity and collaboration at google.com/apps.

For those users who have a Google Apps account, if your administrator has already transitioned your organization to the new infrastructure, you can now use Google Voice by signing in at google.com/voice with your existing Apps account. At this time, Google Voice is available in the U.S. only.

For more details, read the complete post on the Google Enterprise blog and follow all the updates on other newly available services for Google Apps users.

Posted by Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager

Google Voice for iPhone

Michael Bolognino — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:50:00 +0000

Earlier this year we launched a Google Voice HTML5 web app for iPhone users. Today we’re taking the Google Voice experience on the iPhone to a whole new level with the launch of the official Google Voice for iPhone app.

With this native app, you’ll continue to have access to all the major Google Voice features on your iPhone, like:

Cheap rates for international calls
Free text messaging to U.S. numbers
Voicemail transcription
Display your Google Voice number as caller ID when making calls

In addition to these benefits, the app provides some features that make using Google Voice on your iPhone a much better experience:

With push notifications, the app will alert you instantly when you receive a new voicemail or text message
Most of your calls will be placed via Direct Access Numbers, making them connect just as quickly as regular phone calls

Google Voice for iPhone is available to download from the Apple App Store today. You’ll need an iPhone with iOS 3.1 or later and a valid Google Voice account to use the app. At this time, Google Voice is available in the U.S. only.

Posted by Christian Brunschen, Software Engineer

Google Voice powers TV fan building

Michael Bolognino — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 15:45:00 +0000

One of the great parts of working on the Google Voice team is that we get to hear about all the interesting, productive, and fun ways you take advantage of Google Voice. Sometimes we hear from students who love the cost savings of the service, and other times we hear from professionals or families who tell us that Google Voice has helped them manage their busy lives.

We recently heard that the folks at the FX Network put Google Voice to use in quite a unique way by giving fans of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia & The League a creative way to interact with their favorite shows.

Each show has a dedicated Google Voice number that fans can call and leave a voicemail to sound off about their favorite (and least favorite) characters, episodes and storylines.

A handful of lucky fans’ voicemails get selected by the FX team and are featured on the site for all to hear.

Posted by Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager

Stay connected on campus with Google Voice

Michael Bolognino — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:44:00 +0000

Heading off to college usually means packing up the car and saying goodbye to your family and friends, so the Google Voice team put together a bunch of ways to make it cheaper and easier to stay in touch while you’re on campus. We also thought back to our own days living in dorms and cramming in the library to create a list of student-friendly tips for getting the most out of your phone while you’re away at school.

1. Save your money for something better than minutes

Send unlimited text messages for free--from your phone or the web
Make free long distance calls in the US and to Canada with Gmail
Call friends studying abroad or call home if you’re an international student for as little as 2 cents/minute

2. Use your phone the way you actually want to

Setup a free Google Voice number that will ring all of your phones at once (dorm phone, cell phone, Gmail, etc.) so you never miss a call (a number that stays with you even if you forget to pay your bill or change cell phone provider)
Get voicemail transcriptions via email and text during class
Enable do not disturb to send your calls directly to voicemail when you want to sleep in on the weekends or need to get some studying done

3. Make calls when your phone can’t
Calling in Gmail makes it possible to call phones from right inside of your Gmail account. This makes a super handy alternative to your mobile phone for things like:

Calling from dorm rooms with non-existent cell phone reception
Locating a mobile phone that is buried in the couch
Ordering a pizza when your phone battery is dead

So grab your Google Voice number, get Google Voice on your mobile phone, or fire up your Gmail account and start making calls. No quarter required.

Google Voice is currently only available in the U.S. And if you’re new to Google Voice, check out our introductory videos at youtube.com/googlevoice.

Posted by Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager

Democracy Photo Challenge Winners & Exhibition

Michael Bolognino — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:01:00 +0000

Posted by Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager

Back on July 7th we announced the Democracy Photo Challenge, a photo competition that asked people from around the world to use the medium of photography to express what democracy means to them.

Nearly 3,000 photos were submitted by photographers from 131 countries, capturing the unique and many times stunning interpretations of this personal concept.

Wednesday, on the International Day of Democracy, the 12 winning photos were officially unveiled at the United Nations in New York City, where they will be exhibited in the South lobby until October 11th.

If you're in the New York City area we invite you to visit the exhibit to view the photos first hand, and if not, to take a virtual tour of the winning photos and add your own voice to the conversation by leaving comments or "liking" your favorites photos.

The Picasa team is honored to have helped the US Department of State and their partners further this global conversation through photography, and excited to launch more photo challenges in the future.

Fast Access to Google Voice with Android Widgets

Michael Bolognino — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Mobile is all about getting super fast access to what you’re looking for and Google Voice is no exception. So, today we’re releasing an update to the Android app, which gives you immediate access to your Google Voice Inbox and settings via two new home screen widgets.

The Google Voice Inbox widget brings your most recent voicemails and text messages to your home screen. You can now quickly flip though messages in your Inbox with the widget, and selecting any message preview will open it in the Google Voice app.

The Settings widget gives you quick access to four handy features.

Get instant access to the full Google Voice app by clicking the Google Voice icon.

Quickly compose and send free text messages.

Change your dialing preferences on the fly. You can have your phone use Google Voice in four different ways, depending on your calling preference.

Select Do Not Disturb and all calls to your Google number will be sent straight to Voicemail.

Plus, your credit balance is displayed so you know when it’s time to add a quarter or two.

The widgets can be used together or individually, and are part of the new Google Voice app, available for download from Android Market today. To add the widgets to a home screen panel, press the menu button from the home screen and select “Add>Widgets>Google Voice Inbox or Google Voice Settings.” You will need a valid Google Voice account to use them, and Google Voice is available free to anyone in the US.

Posted by Marcus Foster, Product Manager

Missed call notifications delivered to your inbox

Michael Bolognino — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Google Voice lets you take charge of your telephony experience, giving you one number that rings all your phones. But what if you’re not around to answer any of them?

Starting today, whenever you miss a call, you can see a notification in your Google Voice inbox, or receive an email notification, or both.

This setting can be turned on and off from the Calls tab in the Settings menu.

We’re excited to add this new feature that’s been a common request from Google Voice users. So keep those suggestions coming, we’re listening!

Posted by Brian Peterson, Google Voice Software Engineer

Get more out of calling in Gmail

Michael Bolognino — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:45:00 +0000

Last week, we launched Google Voice in Gmail to let you make calls right from your computer. The uptake has been amazing and 10,000,000 calls later, we wanted to offer some tips and tricks on how you, as a loyal Google Voice user, can unlock additional features when you setup Gmail to receive calls with your Google Voice number. If you haven’t already hooked it up, go to Google Voice, click on settings and check the box next to Google Chat in your list of forwarding phones.

Now, you’ll be able to make and receive calls to your Google Voice number right in Gmail. Plus, you’ll have access to a bunch of handy features, like:

Call screening
Not sure who’s calling you? Instead of hitting “Answer” or “Ignore” when you get a call in Gmail, click the “Screen” button. The caller will be sent to your voicemail and you can listen in while they leave you a message. If you decide you want to take the call, just click “Join” at any time to pick up.

Switching calls between Gmail and other phones
Let’s say you picked up a call on your Gmail, but you need to head out the door. It’s a pain to hang up and call the person back from your cell, especially for those important calls. Hit the asterisk (*) on the Gmail dial pad at any time during the call and your other Google Voice forwarding phones will ring. Just pick up the call from one of your other phones and continue the conversation without ever having to disconnect the call.

Recording incoming calls
Is your conversation too good to forget? Press 4 on the dial pad at any time and both parties will be notified that the call is being recorded. To stop the recording, press 4 again or hang up. Call recordings will be saved in your Google Voice inbox.

Click to dial with the Chrome Extension
Searching for your favorite restaurant or bar on Google Maps? Friend email you their phone number? The Google Voice extension for Google Chrome allows you to just click on any phone number on any website or in any email, and it will dial the number for you.

Posted by Michael Bolognino, Google Voice Product Marketing Manager