Hello Grand Central

Picking an email service took me several years.  I've used tons of free e-mail services but it wasn't until GMail that I really locked in - sort of.  Even now I still maintain a Yahoo! account for tracking special types of messages.

I'm currently a Verizon subscriber, previously n at&t one, but who knows where I'll be in a few years.  While my cell phone is currently my primary phone, there are occasions where it's unreliable and I'm not just talking about reception wise - see I forget my phone at work or in the car A LOT!   For some time I've been thinking about getting a SkypeIn number to make myself more reachable but I worried about providing too many numbers to my friends.

Enter Grand Central.

Despite still being in beta Grand Central provides an incredible amount of tools for it's users. One of the most powerful utilities that Grand Central offers is it's call forwarding.  Once you've setup your free phone number you can set it up to forward to any other numbers you choose.  Mine, for example, currently forwards to my cell phone and home phone - I'll be adding my SkypeIn line soon I think.

In the beta version users have the option to set certain forwarding rules based on incoming numbers.  Users can also setup special ring tones and messages for their incoming calls.   Want your family to get one message?  Your friends another?  Grand Central makes it happen.

One of the major bonuses that I also consider a major selling factor was the ability to manage your Grand Central account right from your computer.   This is great for tracking messages and customizing some of the cooler features that are available.

If you haven't yet be sure to check out Grand Central and let me know what you think.