A few months ago I started using Jott’s new voicemail to text feature, it saves tons of time because it gives you the ability to read (usually a quick scan) your voice messages in an email or on your phone via your mail account. I thought Jott’s service was very cool until I got their first bill and realized how much they were charging me for the service (after they lured me into the FREE trial period)—though I do feel it was a justified expense for the increased productivity I was gaining, it still hurt when I got that first bill.
At the end of March 2009 Google launched Google Voice, which does the same thing for their current Grand Central Accounts (Grand Central is a Google 
phone service that Google bought a few years back, it makes a digital file of all messages and drops them in an in-box for review). I love Google Voice, the transcripts are much cleaner than Jott’s and have less errors, the interface and dashboard are designed in that classic no nonsense approach (which screams functionality and simplicity, or maybe whispers it)—but the best part is that it is a free service. Here is some Googlespeak from the GV website:
“Google Voice is a service that gives you one number for all your phones, voicemail that is easy as email, and many enhanced calling features like call blocking and screening, voicemail transcripts, call conferencing, international calls, and more.”
Google Voice has some other cool features too, like listening in when people leave a message or recording a call and saving it online, “you didn’t say X, in fact I’ve got it recorded, you want to hear?” You can block numbers (nasty creditors, old girlfriends), create SMS, and even route calls to multiple numbers (including your Skype number (ditch that landline). In a digital nutshell, Google Voice is the future of communication and is one more reason to love Google.
If you don’t have a Google Grand Central account you can sign-up to be INVITED to Google Voice here.
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