All smartphone and regular landline users, doesn’t matter the carrier, pay a good chunk of money for their phone bills. I know time to time I hear, “So-So is cheaper, so I stick with them.” Most cellphone carriers charge about $100.00 for most contracts and that to me is NOT cheap! At least not in today’s economy that still consists of jobless citizens still struggling to get that job and support their families. I do have some good news for all of you. Using Google’s Services can save you money and cut your phone bill costs. How? Let us find out.
Hint: Cut Back on Your Minutes Plan
Unless you’re a huge business person, cutting back on your minutes can help you save at least $20 to $40 depending on which plan you are on. With new technology developing and advancing, Google provides so many services for us that we don’t need that pricey plan. Even going to a prepaid plan is another great suggestion given out. So let’s say we have cut down either on our minutes, or we have revised out monthly package plans, then what? This is where we jump to Google Services. Here is the applications they provide us with and what they do.
Google App #1: Google Voice
I know many smartphone users already use this feature, but for those who don’t listen up. Google Voice can serve as a “hub for all your phone calls.” You can give Google Voice the commands of where you want your calls sent and when that should be done. That isn’t the only thing Google Voice provides. There are countless other features. It provides:
- Voicemail Transcription
- One Number (you can also use your current number)
- Personalized greetings
- International Calling
- SMS to Email
- Share Voicemails
- Block Callers
- Screen Callers
- Mobile App
- Conference Calls
- Number Porting
I’ve used this application way back, but it just didn’t seem to be my cup of tea. Now that I”m able to see what it can do, I have already reinstalled this feature on my phone. If you want to know more about this feature, please visit Google and locate Google Voice.
With Google Voice your also provided with the ability to forward calls. However, you aren’t given much options to “monitor” this setup. There is an app called Tasker which allows a user to perform such functions. With this app your able to install a third-party plugin called “Locale GV Settings.” Can anyone guess what it does? That’s right, it integrates with your Google Voice so you have more control over your call forwarding functions.
Google App # 2: Google VoIP Service
Google offers you the ability to do voice calling via GMail or GTalk and it’s built into these features. What we may not know is that we have the ability to create a “fee-free VoIP phone line for our home or office.” How awesome is that?! However, in order to use such a feature you will need to purchase some hardware. It’s a device called “OBi” and it connects right to your router. This will then connect to your Google account after the brief setup, and BAM! You have VoIP service. How awesome! This is why I love Google. No worries about the OBi either folks, it can be purchased at mere $40.00. Once the OBi is set up with your computer and router, you just plug a landline in and your done. You now have:
- Caller ID
- Call Waiting
- Multiple Google Accounts
- Multiple “extension” handset ability
Sources: Computer World / Google / Google Play