YouMail vs. Google Voice

[Rstrait]

I am new to android having come from a bb. i had youMail on my bb and installed it on my Incredible. Now that i can get Google voice i was wondering which is better and if it is worth switching.

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[bass_lover1]

From what I can tell, GV offers free VM transcription and YM is a paid service. I prefer the personalized greetings from YM, however.

[hawkinc]

I use ym. The app is great.

[a65lopez]

i've had google voice for past two weeks and found that it is more humorous than useful or informative! none of the transcriptions have been correct. the messages make no sense because the wrong words are transcribed. i'll just use verizon's visual voicemail again, but for now google voice offers some comedic relief!!

[jermaine151]

i've had google voice for past two weeks and found that it is more humorous than useful or informative! none of the transcriptions have been correct. the messages make no sense because the wrong words are transcribed. i'll just use verizon's visual voicemail again, but for now google voice offers some comedic relief!!

They charge for that. Try you mail. I love it but I don't use the transcription service.



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[CummingsNU]

I've had Google Voice (GV) since the very beginning of its Beta (I received one of the original invites) back last summer. Honestly, I love it... Better yet, I'm in love with it. I apologize in advance if the following is extremely unorganized. I felt it was necessary for a GV veteran to give you their own input on the service.
Allow me to begin...


What is Google Voice?
Google Voice is a free call forwarding service. When subscribed, they will supply you with a free phone number (of your choice). Keep in mind, some area codes may not be available due to the popularity of the service. When setting up the service, you may set it up with several numbers or just a single number (I have it set up with my home phone, mobile phone, and school phone). Since I'm home, I only have my mobile phone selected as a forwarding phone. When somebody calls my GV number, my mobile phone will ring (showing their number in caller-id, not my GV number). For android, when somebody texts my GV, the application will notify you of a new GV text message waiting in your inbox (same goes for voicemail and whatnot). This service allows you to done out your number with anonymity (in a sense). There is no possible way, for anybody who you give your GV number out to, to find out your actual phone number.


GV allows for you to make Groups. I have several groups, actually: Business, School, Friends, and Family. I may set it so that each group hears a different greeting when they call. For example, when a business caller hears a greeting I want it to sound professional and not foolish... When a friend calls, I really could care less about what they hear. This is extremely useful if your number is given out to the entire world. Half of the time, I really don't know who is calling... so this feature allows me to establish some level of privacy and anonymity.


As stated earlier from other posters, the transcription may be "humorous." As this can be true, it's only on rare occurences. You must take a few things into account... In my area, there are many people who speak with accents (Boston, as you can imagine). The voicemail transcription wasn't programmed to take that into account, but moreso actual words. Car vs. "cah," broom vs. "brum," etc. When a ditsy teenage girl calls speaking faster than even I could interpret, the transcription is way off. However, I do get a number of business calls and they are quite accurate. For example, when a Verizon customer support representitive left a voicemail it was spot on (obviously with a few things off but you get the point). The more clearly the caller speaks, the better it'll pick up. Now, I have never used YouMail, so I cannot speak on their behalf but I will say that I am very pleased with this free service that Google has given. When somebody leaves a voicemail on Google Voice, and I read the transcription... In conclusion, my car mechanic from South Boston will have a poor transcription whereas my professional Verizon customer support representative will a very accurate transcription. What it comes down to is this: "did you get the point of the message?" If yes, there really isn't an issue...


Inbound and Outbound calling is very nice. When somebody calls your Google Voice number, it will ring whatever phone you would like it to... whether it be just your droid or a handful of phones (droid, house, other cell phone, office, etc) all at the same time. You may set it up so either the caller ID on your phones show up as your GV number or it will display their caller ID. Making outbound calls with the droid through GV is quite remarkable. This is the first droid that I have ever owned so I'm just touching upon the GV app... But after downloading it and establishing my account with the droid, I have the option to make outbound calls through GV right off of my phone. Normally, on a computer I would have to navigate to voice.google.com and then from there establish a call to a certain number, which then the GV servers call my phone, I have to pick up, then wait for it to ring... With this app, all of that is bypassed. I can make it so when I dial a number I get the option of calling out through GV or my regular phone. I can also set it up so Google Voice handles calls by default (no hastle, open up dialer, pick contact/dial number, "call", directly calls). When you call through GV, you also have the option (established on the settings on their web interface) to either show your calling number or your GV number on outbound calls, extremely handy feature especially if you're like me and want to sustain a certain level of privacy.


I've really enjoyed the text messaging feature so far. I use both the Handcent and (Google) Voice application. I have it so that any text message sent directly to my number goes through Handcent and anything through GV to Voice. On the phone, when I receive a text in GV, Voice pops up with its own notification (so up top if I have a text in GV I will have a little Voice button next to my Handcent text notification button).


I hope this mini-review shed some light on Google Voice as both a service and an app, helping you make an educated decision. If you have any questions on any of the services or features offered, just let me know.

[CummingsNU]

Example of the Verizon Voicemail transcription vs. my mechanic


Note: the lighter the text, the more guessed the word is. All black text is Google's program confidently guessing the word. So, lighter: less confident; darker: more confident

Verizon Customer Support (Clear-spoken):


Mechanic (Boston Accent):

What the voicemail actually says:
"Hey Chris, Bob down at V.I.P., just lettin' ya know that your Explorer's all set. It was just a fuse inside the 'cah'. Uhh, so you can come pick it up anytime. Thanks."

I really couldn't expect any automated transcription service to be able to accurately transcribe that. As you can see, the transcription may be quite humorous from a third-person perspective... It translated "car" into "casket"

[Marsden]

I would add that GV texting is free, saving whatever you would have paid VZW for the privilege.

[sk24iam]

My youmail doesn't display my voicemails anymore in the inbox. Anyone know what could be causing this?

[dvgdn51]

I've really enjoyed the text messaging feature so far. I use both the Handcent and (Google) Voice application. I have it so that any text message sent directly to my number goes through Handcent and anything through GV to Voice. On the phone, when I receive a text in GV, Voice pops up with its own notification (so up top if I have a text in GV I will have a little Voice button next to my Handcent text notification button).

I have had a GV number for just about as long, although I haven't gotten the full usage out of it as you have. I have a couple of questions I'm hoping you might be able to help me with.
Is there a way to get around having to first accept a call that comes in through GV? When I get a called through GV, it's just not easy, I have to first open my phone, answer, then accept by pressing one. Is there away to answer with out pressing one to accept? As for texting, well if I could get it to work like you mentioned, I might use it. I've had to ask the people that have my GV # to text me on my cell #.
That is a hassle. So any info you would be willing to share to make my GV experience better, would be appreciated. Thanx