

Google Voice Alternative SendHub Offers An Easier Way To Provision Phone Lines - ashrust
http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/22/with-debut-of-sendhub-manger-google-voice-alternative-sendhub-now-offers-businesses-an-easier-way-to-provision-hundreds-of-phone-lines/

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rdl
Is this call forwarding, or is there a SIP client on the smartphone handset
(or, presumably, other real SIP phones)?

The SMS features look great. The biggest problem with Google Voice is that
Google essentially seems to not care about the product, and really hasn't
since they bought it.

~~~
leephillips
"The biggest problem with Google Voice is that Google essentially seems to not
care about the product"

But it works and does what it's supposed to, no? At least that's my
experience. Is there actually a problem with the service, or do you just have
a feeling that it won't last, or something?

~~~
aleyan
There are definite problems with the service. Problems that don't surface once
you dug in and started using it for a while with people knowing only your GV
number.

    
    
        1) Inbound texts occasionally arrive late or not at all.
        2) Google Voice Android App sometimes breaks silently so you can't receive 
        calls or texts until you relaunch the app.
        3) Sometimes you can't make outgoing calls through the GV android app.
        4) MMS messages sent to you are rejected. Neither you nor the 
        sending party are notified that anything went awry.
        5) No confirmation that your text has been sent. 
        Sometimes GV lets you know that it failed, sometimes it doesn't show up in your 
        conversation but has actually gone out.
    
        Additionally there are missing features:
        1) A bunch of non-google services don't recognize GV numbers as valid and 
        will not accept it as a phone number.
        2) MMS sending and receiving.
        3) International texting.
        4) Android App with clear semantics what constitutes a conversation and a 
        clear history of what you sent and received.
    

I should add that these issues have existed for a long while and there has
been no communication from Google about resolutions to them. Not sure if there
is any development going on the backend, but the android app development
hasn't moved in the past year.

Other than that, it is a great service at the price of 0 dollars and non-
trivial frustration.

~~~
sp332
The oddest one I have: you can't press the number '4' when calling from a
Google Voice number. [https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-
topic/voic...](https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-
topic/voice/making-and-receiving-calls/Rf7aMZz91XE)

~~~
businessleads
YES! Because they use it to activate call recording.

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jsight
To get over 1000 minutes, this would cost >$100/month. I'm not sure why it
should cost more than a mobile plan for that. The pricing plans need a lot of
work, IMO.

~~~
ashrust
I understand your concern here, we're looking into it more at present. The
main reason for our current pricing is that it also includes unlimited
texting. Watch this space, I expect we'll start offering more voice minutes on
the paid plans very soon.

~~~
businessleads
Watching!

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consciousness
This is really cool. I've been waiting for a way to give all of my employees
their own virtual phone number, and since almost all of them have iPhones
anyways, this looks great!

Would love to see an Android App for this (I have a Nexus). Anyone know what
their current plans are for the droid ecosystem?

~~~
zosegal
We're hard at work on it but can't give you a release date yet. You can login
to the website from the Android browser though.

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rwbt
$50 for 750 minutes sounds a bit expensive, especially considering how cheap
Google Voice is. I know that it is a little premium with better support but a
regular cell phone service probably has unlimited minutes for $50/month. * I
am assuming incoming calls are also billed.

Also, is there an option for international calls? I don't see any pricing info
for international calls.

I'm looking for a serious alternative to Google Voice and this almost fits the
bill, but expensive. As someone mentioned a SIP option would be great too.

~~~
ashrust
Hi - feel free to ping me ash [at] sendhub.com and we can try to work out a
more affordable plan for you, will you be using text much?

We don't do international calls right now, although it's highly requested.

You can make calls over data on sendhub - via both the website and the iPhone
app.

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darkarmani
Do the voice call minutes include inbound calls? Google voice has unlimited
inbound calls and only charges for outbound calls.

~~~
ashrust
We charge in both directions for voice calls.

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leejoramo
I was just looking at Line2 which looks like it has more features and better
pricing. Anybody tried any of these services? Can they reliably replace a
phone?

<https://www.line2.com/>

Edit: Line2 also has an Android app

~~~
leejoramo
Just noticed that SendHub has an easy API for SMS.

~~~
ashrust
We have a lot of businesses using via the api, examples include: lead gen,
crm, subscriber notifications, marketing and even competitions.

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smokey_the_bear
Do you have any novelty numbers available? like 0000 or other easy to remember
ones?

We're using GoogleVoice for our company now, but it's not ideal, especially
the limitation that a phone can only be connected to one GoogleVoice number.

~~~
ashrust
We try our best with vanity numbers - we can see if we can find you good one
(and people are usually pretty happy) but otherwise you can also port in any
number you own to SendHub.

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btian
Just signed up. Everything is very intuitive and trouble free. I guess the
ability to choose numbers would be a premium feature?

Would be great to have an Android app as well.

~~~
ashrust
You can select an area code but specific number selection isn't something a
lot of people have asked for, although I do understand the desire. If you're
looking for a specific number, we're always happy to change the numbers on
premium accounts and if you ping me I'll give you a coupon for a free upgrade:
ash [at] sendhub dot com.

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webwanderings
Does Google Voice provide Group texting?

~~~
ashrust
No, the max you can text is 5 on GV, on SendHub you can text any number of
people you want.

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Splendor
SendHub doesn't support MMS either. :(

~~~
ashrust
Coming soon, the problem is that MMS is not really standard and a lot of
platform providers don't support, so it's a little more complex than it seems.

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robk
When will you have a SIP or XMPP option to route calls over data?

~~~
ashrust
You can already make calls over data on both sendhub.com and on the app. Is it
not working for you?

~~~
msumpter
SIP would always be ideal since we could integrate our existing SIP handsets
with your service for voice calling.

~~~
jaytaylor
Thanks, we'll definitely investigate adding support for this.

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grecy
Can I use this in Canada?

~~~
ashrust
Ping me at ash [at] sendhub.com and I'll get you setup with a number in
Canada.

