I've been using Grand Central for quite a while now, so far not a single problem or complaint about the service. Calls are connected by Level 3 communications, and are usually crystal clear. My cellular service is neither so good nor reliable! Here are a several additional ways to finagle it Remember, any time you "call" someone using Grand Central, it first calls you, THEN them. As long as the Caller ID is set to always show the GC number, it will be free if added to one of the Faves type plans. (And yes, this does work with the Sprint SERO / Sprint to Home combo ) 1) Leave a couple of people you frequently call in your voice mail - I have four folks I call all the time, I just never delete the voice mails, and simply "press 2 to return the call" rather than "7 to archive" or "9 to leave it as new". With only a few messages permanently there, it's not a real bother to just hit 9 a couple of times to skip past them to messages that are acutally new. 2) In addition to being able to call anyone in your address book from the mobile web version of Grand Central, you can EDIT an Address Book entry from the mobile web, THEN call it. I have an entry named "1" that I edit, then use to call numbers that aren't, and I don't wish to permanently be, in my address book. 3) Something I rarely do, but is very easy, is to set a "Quick Rule", using either the mobile or regular web, temporarily add a landline phone you will be near to your "all ring at once" list. 4) You get $5 of free OUTGOING minutes PER DAY during the beta. (unlimited INCOMING) But you have to MANUALLY recharge it. I think it's a penny a minute for calls, so the 500 pennies lasts a long time. I bookmarked the recharging page and hit it every time I check my voice mail online, so I never have to worry about a call getting cut off because I ran out of free pennies. 5) GrandCentral will work with Gizmo Project, and works WELL with it. My laptop not only works well as a speakerphone using open WiFi, but it works fine over Sprints EVDO network as well. And my Sprint phone has unlimited data and can tether to the laptop in moments I do this once or twice a month in fact, where I have to be in long conference calls while at the same time don't have a reliable land line. (Because I am working on the land lines ) Rather than run up my cell bill and drain the battery, I leave it tethered and VOIP for a few hours for free  6) There are Gizmo Project VOIP clients for Windows Mobile and Palm phones. If you have unlimited data use on your phone, you get unlimted calling that way too I haven't bothered with this yet, but I've heard it works reasonably well depending on your phone. 7) Gizmo Project will work with several VOIP phone adapters. Think free "Vonage" if you don't mind placing the calls using the Grand Central web page. You can also just buy outgoing Gizmo Project minutes. I got my defunct SunRocket adapter working this way. So anyway, the only hassle to get unlimited free incoming calls (and since you call your number, free voicemail checking) is that your caller ID won't display the real caller on the phone. You do, as has been mentioned, get an audio caller ID that largely makes up for it. It is a good bit more hassle to get unlimited outgoing calls, but not that big a deal to use the mobile web or regular web to dial. I use the voice mail trick most of the time myself. Good Luck! |