Google Voice, Say Hello to toktumi

By mike |

Saturday, July 11, 2009

In case you hadn't heard, Google Voice is finally here.  You can learn all about it here.  In a nutshell, Google Voice is Google's latest creation designed to piss somebody off.  And this time that somebody is the telecom industry.

For many, Google Voice will be a godsend.  Sign up with Google Voice and you choose your own telephone number.  This number is meant to replace all of your current phone numbers. You give everyone you know your Google Voice number and when anyone calls it, all your phones ring at the same time.  You can answer from any of your phones and when you do, you can choose to 1) answer the call, 2) send the call to voice mail, 3) screen the call as the caller leaves a voice message and even optionally pick up the call as the caller is recording his message.  Just like an answering machine. (Remember those?)

Another killer feature is the ability to make outgoing calls using your Google Voice number. What makes it killer is calls are free to US numbers. Now that's a lot more people you can call for free than you can with your T-Mobile My Faves or Verizon's Friends and Family plans.

Want more?  Google Voice transcribes your voice mail messages and sends them as SMS or e-mail.  Or log on to your account at the Google Voice website and playback your messages on your computer.  This means never having to use your phone to pick up your voice mail.  Nice.

You can't sign up for Google Voice yet.  Right now, you're in by invitation only.  But last week Google began trickling invitations to people who started requesting them since Google acquired GrandCentral over two years ago.  (Go here to get an invite.)  So it's been a long wait for some of us.

Yesterday, after much whining and bitching, I finally received my invite.  Now, I had already given some--ok, some have said way too much--thought on how I would use Google Voice because I knew there were certain limitations that came with being a Hawaii resident.  Why?  Well, for one, Google Voice doesn't let you choose 808 for an area code.  So Hawaii callers have to make an out-of-state call to my Google Voice number.  That sucks big time.  (Alaska residents are in for the same surprise, only worse because the toll charges to Alaska are even higher than Hawaii's.)  And because my Google Voice number is an Ohio area code, I get charged if I call my home number.  Where's the love, Big G?

This would explain all the Tweets I'm reading from Hawaii people who've received invitations but say they're not going to sign up until Google Voice offers 808 numbers.  Well, that may not happen anytime soon, but I'm not waiting.  I'm using my Google Voice right now.  But how?

Enter toktumi, another VOIP service that offers many of the same features as Google Voice.  But what's different about toktumi is exactly what makes it so appealing to us Hawaii users.  First, like Google Voice, you get to choose your number.  And, no, toktumi doesn't offer 808 numbers either. But toktumi does have two trump cards over Google Voice.  One, toktumi will let you port your existing number (Google Voice says number porting is in the works but can't say when).  Not being able to port your existing number to Google Voice is the single biggest complaint I come across by people (at least on Twitter).  Two, and to me this is even better than number porting, toktumi will let you choose a toll-free number, which is what I did.  So zero toll charges for people calling me no matter where they're calling from and zero toll charges for me calling anyone in the US--including HI and AK.  More than that, with toktumi I get a "soft" phone that lets me take and make calls on my laptop (with a broadband connection).  That feature alone is what sold me on toktumi as I get zero bars with Verizon at home.  Now I have no excuses when the office calls when I'm working from home.

So here's my setup using both Google Voice and toktumi.  First I've told everyone my new toll-free toktumi number.  Having to do this is a minor chore for me since I'm not the world's most popular guy.  (And, remember, this isn’t something I would have to do had I chosen to port my current phone number).  For others, I can see how notifying the universe with their new number might be a real pain.  But the payoff, I think, is well worth it.  And in my case, for just $25, toktumi let me choose a toll-free vanity number which happens to be the same as my regular number. The only difference is my area code changed from Hawaii’s 808 to the toll-free 888.  Sweet.

Next I had to decide how to route incoming calls. I had two choices here: Forward calls to my Google Voice number and use the nifty call handling features it offers or forward calls straight to my cell phone and use my Google Voice strictly for voice mail (when callers get no answer or busy)?  Well, as it turns out, if I forward calls to Google Voice first, somehow the caller ID information is missing when Google Voice forwards the call to my cell phone.  That's a deal breaker.  So I have incoming calls on my toktumi number forwarded directly to my phone (a Samsung i910 Omnia).  This works since I use Inesoft Phone to handle incoming calls already.  If I don't answer (either because I'm away from the phone or I'm on a call) or if the call is auto-rejected by Inesoft (because, for example, the caller ID is blocked), the call is routed to Google Voice.  Because I'm using Google Voice for voice mail only, I have my account set to permanent Do Not Disturb.

As far as outgoing calls from my cell, I'm using Doug Melton's very handy and free idialer program.  This program lets me place outgoing calls through toktumi.  One click on a contact and it dials toktumi, dials a 2 to place the call, then dials the number.  The person I'm calling sees my toktumi number, not my real number, thereby making it more likely they'll use my toktumi number when they call me in the future.  And every call I make to someone anywhere in the US or Canada through my toktumi number is included in my toktumi account.  So these don't eat up any precious Verizon calling plan minutes.

Ok, so here’s where I mention that toktumi isn't free.  Only a company as huge as Google can offer services like this for free.  And let’s not forget, not even Google lets users call Hawaii or Alaska for free.  So at a flat-rate of only $14.95 per month, toktumi is a hell of a bargain, especially when you consider all outgoing and incoming calls to US and Canada are included.  No hidden charges or fees.  And for people like me in Hawaii, this makes the Google Voice/toktumi combo an attractive alternative.

(I have no affiliation with either Google Voice or toktumi beyond using their services.)