As someone who has experience with Google Voice, I must say that I'm disappointed with what feels like backwards progression since the rebranding from Grand Central. I think the service has less functionality and fewer features now than it did before the rebranding as "Google Voice." Call quality has deteriorated for me, especially on outgoing. Google Voice may not be true SIP and there are significant technical issues right now. The most notable being spotty DTMF performance, which is critical as Google Voice is requiring members to confirm their phone numbers via an call back system with automated PIN input. Far too many people are finding their phones' touch tones aren't being recognized so PIN numbers cannot be entered. (If you can't verify your phone number, your account is locked. So there are lots of complaints in the Google Voice help forums but Google remains mum.) I have a gut feeling that Google will be scaling back the "free" elements of Google Voice. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see a public launch delayed if they're in negotiations to make Google Voice available as added functionality for existing VOIP and cellular providers. Altough Google Voice hasn't been dumped as one of the non-money makers yet, I don't think it's out of the woods by any means. If the economy remains flat or continues to shed jobs through the next couple of quarters, I'm not sure whether Google Voice will survive.
