Released on March 11, 2009. Google Voice is a free Google-owned internet service that uses VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) to link customers.

Features of Google video include:

-A single Google number for all user's phones.
-Free calls and SMS in the contiguous US and Canada.
-Calling International phone numbers for as low as 0.01 USD per minute.
-Call screening. Announce callers based on their number or by an automated identification request for blocked numbers.
-Listen in on someone recording a voicemail before taking a call.
-Block calls.
-Send, receive, and store SMS online.
-Answer an incoming call on any of your phones.
-Phone routing. Choose which phones should ring based on who calls.
-Forwarding phones.
-Voicemail transcripts. Read voicemails online.
-Listen to voicemail online or from a phone.
-Receive notifications of voicemails via email or SMS.
-Personalized greeting that vary greetings by caller.
-The ability to forward or download voicemails.
-Conference calling.
-Record calls and store them online.
-Switch phones during a call.
-View the web inbox from a mobile device/phone.
-Set preferences for contacts by group.
-Ability to change your number for a fee.

-Cheaper

-Google voice applications in smartphones can automatically forward outgoing calls via the user's Google Voice number instead of the device's phone number.

-It provides all users with the features mentioned above; One device, many features; thus less things to own.

What are the consequences in other areas? e.g- normal phone companies

-If people make the switch to use VOIP services (google voice), normal phone companies may eventually come to end due to lack of payment from users. This is because more people will make a move towards the VOIP services and thus they will earn less money.

-When a Google Voice user returns a call, the party being called sees the device's number as opposed to the Google Voice number which sometimes confuses the receiver. To recognize calls from a Google Voice user, someone must store several different numbers in their phone.

-microphone

-cell phone

-home phone

-work phone

-collecting -information such as names of contacts and their number, collecting voice projections through the microphone

-organising - organising numbers under contact names, organising sounds into words/identifying what sound is what letter and language (translation)

-displaying - on the screen who is calling, who you are calling and displaying the things that you say into letters and words on screen

-transmitting and receiving - sounds back and forth in calls, emails and voicemail

-storing and retrieving - messages/mail/voicemail in phone, phone numbers, records callas and stores them online