Among them: text messaging, voice
mail transcription, friend settings, a new user interface, and conference and international calls. Google Voice will both accept and send out text messages and forward them onto your mobile phone. It
will also transcribe and save and make searchable all of your voicemails. New friend settings allow users to route calls from specific people straight to voice mail or to a specific phone
number.
The primary interface is through your phone via an audio menu that looks a lot like Gmail, but users can also log in to the Web site to administer the account and view
activity. All SMS and transcribed voicemails are searchable and taggable, which Rao says is "very useful and will change the way people interact with these messages." Google also says that integration
with Gmail is on the way. "Personally, having all my email, SMS and transcribed voicemails in a single inbox could be life-changing," Rao says. Finally, Google Voice also allows conference calls of up
to six participants with recording capabilities. Calls overseas can be made at rates similar to eBay's Skype.