I have a gvoice number, but I'm pretty much in the same situation as you. It has a ton of cool features, but I'm not really in a position to take advantage of them.

The voicemail feature may be the most relevant to you. Instead of having calls to your regular number go to your carrier's voicemail, you can forward those calls to gvoice voicemail. The caller won't notice the difference. You'll get the transcript via email or sms--the quality is spotty, but it can be useful. More importantly (to me) was the ability to organize voicemails like emails. Google saves the voicemails in mp3 format, which I find vastly superior to the closed off carrier-hosted voicemail.

If you have multiple telephone numbers, gvoice is an easy way to route calls between them. In the future, I could put my gvoice number on my business cards instead of my employer-owned number. Then I could just route calls to my office phone or my cell phone. If I switch employers, I wouldn't have to worry about business contacts calling my old number since I'd just re-route my gvoice number to my new office number.

Also, I think SMS via google voice is free and/or cheaper than through your wireless carrier. I'm not clear on the details. But in any case, you still get the ability to store and organize SMS just like email. AT&T deletes texts after some set number of days, I think.

Er, I'm wrong about AT&T deleting your text messages. I think the iPhone has a storage limit though. I don't know, but I know that it's much easier to deal with old texts with gvoice.

I know nothing about Google Voice, but I'll join Eideteker in lamenting the stampede toward using streaming video to convey all manner of information, much of which could be just as well presented in text, if not better. I mean, (a) I read much faster than anyone can talk, (b) often I just want to skim and pick up key points, not listen to someone blather ON and ON with the lame jokes and the unnecessary details, and (c) what about those of us stealthily web-surfing at work who can't listen to videos? Hah?

I've had google voice since it was grand central and have never used it. I was most interested in the mp3s of voice mails, but I've had the same cell # and home # for ten years, so it was too much bother to get people to use a new number for me.

Also, I hate hate hate hate video only instructions.

I've had one since Grand Central days and it's been very handy because my house (I live in a canyon) doesn't get cellular signals from any carrier at all. GV can ring my cell, home/work land lines simultaneously, making it easier for others to get ahold of me and it's easier than me constantly fiddling with call forwarding settings on each land line or giving people multiple phone numbers with lengthy caveats about which to use when. I can also specify time ranges I want which lines to ring so work calls aren't coming through at home after-hours.

Even if you don't have the above problem of too many phones that only work in specific locations, it's nice to have a number to hand out when you need to give out your number but are concerned it might be added to a call list that you can't opt out of. One example, various local elected officials have my GV#, which I gave to them while trying to get an issue addressed or giving a donation. However, during election time, I use GVs emailed transcription to determine if the call is one I want to return.

(SMS storage on the iPhone OS 3.x is 75,000 messages, dunno what it is under iOS 4)

Huh? How do you get it to ring more than one number? I would like this.

I've had Google Voice for a while, and it was literally a lifesaver when my cell phone battery went out. I was able to text my husband to come get me when I had my pancreatitis attack.

I do like the transcription, it's pretty good. I get the message sent to my phone and my email.

And yeah, I'll take text over video most of the time, unless it's really important to give a moving visual.

I got a gvoice number with a local area code because my cell phone has a Chicagoland area code, and people here either give you the stinkeye or stare incomprehensibly when you give them a number that doesn't start with 414 or 262.

lysdexic - you just add another number in settings > phones.

I've had Google voice for about 9 months but I really haven't given it out to anyone. So most of the calls/voicemails I get come from wrong numbers. I learned in February a vacation rental place listed my GV number as a typo and got a call or two.

Last week I got this voicemail transcript:

Hi, My name is mine. Yes, I'd like to have and I would like to know. I will say I'm sorry they. Com dollar house. If you have for rent and I'll call you up for keeping 100 a week. My number is (619) 890-xxxx (619) 890-xxxx My name is finance. Thank you very much.

The person's voice was heavily accented and when I listened to the actual message I found she was looking for a "condo or house" and not a "corn dollar house" in La Jolla for $1500 a week. The transcription is usually pretty good for people with no discernible accent. I will say that even with the accent, GV was able to get her phone number perfectly.

I've also used GV for lower cost international calls. ATT Wireless calls are 99c a minute to Mexico w/o a special calling plan but on GV calls to wirelines are a few pennies and cellphones are 19c (even if I paid ATT $5mth for the call mexico plan, it is still 24c for cellphone calls, so it is cheaper and doesn't have a fee. I also use it to SMS people in the US when I"m too lazy to get up and walk across the room to my phone. I wish it had free or low cost international SMS. And of course, made available outside the US

I'd like to have and I would like to know.

Wouldn't we all?

I gave in and set it up. On the assumption that 212 numbers are impossible to get, I set up a 917 number. The last four digits spell my name/initials (NAT4). Now I have a number I can give to companies, and preserve my direct cell phone number for actual humans. I have the GVoice number set up to screen, though I'm not sure what that does (might try it from my desk if I stay late tonight at work to make up for being sick this morning).

I'd still appreciate your anecdata, though.