June 25, 2007

Google to Buy GrandCentral



Techcrunch reports that Google is about to acquire GrandCentral, a service that links all your phone numbers and gives you a new number with additional features:
* Check your messages by phone, email, or online
* Keep all your messages online for eternity
* Record and store your phone calls (just like voicemail)
* Quickly (and secretly) block an annoying caller
* Click-to-dial from your address book
* Surprise your callers with a custom voicemail greeting
* Turn your MP3s into the ring tones your callers hear
* Forward, download, and add notes to your messages

"GrandCentral gives people one phone number for life. This number is not tied to a phone or a particular location; it's tied to you. GrandCentral is a unified communications service that integrates all your existing phones, numbers and voicemail boxes and bridges the gap between voicemail and email."

The service is available only for the US and Canada, but you can see a short demo: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd5gHKU-qnQ">here</a>.


Google could integrate the service with Gmail, Google Talk and your list of contacts. Because all your conversations are recorded and available online for future reference, Google could make them searchable, just like Google Talk's chat messages.

Update (July 2): It's official. "Google acquired GrandCentral because its communications services fit into Google's mission to organize the world's information and to provide services and features that enhance the collaborative exchange of information between our users." The terms of the acquisition are confidential.

5 comments:

  1. That would be great. I was afraid after GC's beta period ended, they would start charging, but if they become part of the big G I imagine they won't.

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  2. I talked about this a few months ago, there will be a big company called Yaggo that will take care of all our electronic communications.

    Please refer to Universal Logger of Electronic Communications


    Let's welcome Yaggo, in this case, Google Central.

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  3. yeah.. grandcentral is cool.. but, i think google is overdoing it.. acquiring businesses and all.. while microsoft is slow n steady.. ad we all know, who won the race..!!

    i also have a blog at..
    http://aaitee.blogspot.com

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  4. Won what race mannu d..? In my opinion Microsoft hasn't won anything (except for money, money, money). Sure they had a success with Windows 95 (since it was so innovative) and Windows XP (because it tackled a lot of the problems Microsoft encountered with 95, 98, 2000, and ME). Now, we have 6 different versions of Vista (more if you separate the 32 and 64 bit versions) that leaves you wonder, "why the heck did I buy this version when I could have just stuck with Windows XP"?

    However, I have been more impressed with Google's endeavors to make everything free; that I am finding myself more willing to trust Google than any other web presence out there.

    I've never been impressed with Microsoft quite like I have been with Google here lately.

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  5. Never heard of GrandCentral before this post. It looks pretty great, I'd defiantly use it if it came to Google.

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