I predict that this is going to be a HOT new product from Google in the coming months. Remember, you saw it here first!
https://www.google.com/voice/about#
How about getting a single phone number you can give out, that when called will ring on all your landlines and cell phones at once so you never miss a call, will have centralized voicemail you can access from anywhere via the web, (voicemails you can convert to text and print out) call waiting / screening (listen to a caller before answering the phone), call forwarding, conference calls, all the features. Place calls anywhere in the US for free, send SMS/Text messages for free... All this at no cost. Probably have to put up with some Adsense/Advertising on the web site.
Looks to be pretty United States-centric for the first go round, but I suspect will be widened to include Canada and Europe if it takes off..
Features:
* Call screening - Announce and screen callers
* Listen in - Listen before taking a call
* Block calls - Keep unwanted callers at bay
* SMS - Send, receive, and store SMS
* Place calls - Call US numbers for free
* Taking calls - Answer on any of your phones
* Phone routing - Phones ring based on who calls
* Forwarding phones - Add phones and decide which ring
* Voicemail transcripts - Read what your voicemail says
* Listen to voicemail - Check online or from your phone
* Notifications - Receive voicemails via email or SMS
* Personalize greeting - Vary greetings by caller
* Share voicemail - Forward or download voicemails
* Conference calling - Join people into a single call
* Call record - Record calls and store them online
* Call switch - Switch phones during a call
* Mobile site - View your inbox from your mobile
* GOOG-411 - Check directory assistance
* Manage groups - Set preferences by group
