Google is reportedly considering buying out the telephone management site, GrandCentral for an undisclosed amount, a move that could signal Google's entry into the telephone market.
GrandCentral, which we looked at and generally liked when it launched earlier this year, uses one centralized number to route your incoming calls to any phone. Designed for those with several phones who'd like to consolidate their numbers, GrandCentral is quite handy.
Since writing the earlier review I've been using the service on a regular basis and have become quite addicted to it. There's also a new feature that delivers “visual voicemail” (despite Apple's overhyped claim about the iPhone being the first to deliver such features) to just about any smart phone.
Taking GrandCentral's already impressive set of features and integrating them into GMail or GTalk would be a real boon if Google wants to move into Skype's market. Even more interesting is the possibility of GrandCentral as part of a Google phone service, a rumor that has long made the blogosphere rounds.
Although TechCrunch reports that their source believes the deal is already closed, neither Google nor GrandCentral have responded or made any announcements. I just fired off an email to GrandCentral's founders and I'll be sure to update this post when I hear back from them.
Also note that If you're interested in internet phone services, you should check out Michael's review of Vtxt from Callwave, a service that will transcribe your voicemail and send it to you as a text message.
