Google's new Google Voice has a few rough edges but for many users, it could be a life-changing experience.

The service allows you to choose a local number, which will simultaneously ring up to six phones such as your cell phone, home phone, office phone, vacation home, etc.

In addition to forwarding your calls, it also takes voice messages that you can listen to on the Web, from a phone, or read, thanks to a new feature that transcribes voice messages and sends them as e-mail and text messages.

If you have multiple phones, having a single number to reach them all can make you and your callers' lives a bit easier, and it can save space on your business card by not having to list separate numbers. The concept is simple: people are trying to reach you-not one of your phones-and Google Voice lets you decide how to route the calls.

The simultaneous ring feature can also be used by groups. Team HOPE, a support network for families of missing children, gives callers a GrandCentral number that rings the phones of several staff members to ensure that calls are always answered.

Both Google and Vonage let you configure forwarding from the Web, but Google also allows you to assign a temporary forwarding number directly from the phone.

The call-recording feature is very cool. At any time during an incoming call, you can press 4 to start the recorder and 4 again to stop it.  The recording feature can also be used by podcasters to record phone calls that can be exported as MP3 files. And yes, there is an announcement to inform the other party that you're recording the call.

You also get free conference calls. Up to four people can dial your phone number and can be patched into the call.

Cheap international calls
People who make occasional international calls from a cell phone will get incredible savings, compared to what the carriers charge. Using Google Voice to call a landline in London, for example, costs 2 cents a minute, compared to the whopping $1.49 that Verizon Wireless and AT&T charge, if you don't purchase an international calling plan.

Because it's an incoming service only, you can't record outbound calls, and you can't use Google Voice to add people to a call. They have to call you.

The service is currently available only to people who had previously signed up for GrandCentral. Google hasn't announced when others can sign up.

Being able to read your voice mail and having one number that rings all your phones is terrific, especially at the amazingly low price of free.