Following on last week’s rumors that a deal were in the works, Google Inc. acquired GrandCentral Communications Inc. for an undisclosed sum.
San Francisco — Google Inc. has acquired GrandCentral Communications, a start-up that lets users manage their existing phones and voice mailboxes over the Web as if they were a single account, the company said on Monday.
Google product manager Wesley Chan made the announcement on the Google Blog, without disclosing financial details, though last week’s speculation put the price at about $50 million.
GrandCentral’s business centers’ around various voice communications services like phone number and voice mail integration and, voice mail Web access.
GrandCentral lets users of its software combine all their phone numbers and voicemail boxes under one phone number so they can manage various phone features online.
Users can set up their accounts so that the number can ring on one or multiple phones, based on who is calling. Customers can hear voicemail online or from a phone and forward voicemails to others or post them to a blog.
The service also features click-to-dial from a web address book and the ability to weed out telemarketer calls. Once the user clicks on the number, GrandCentral calls the user???s designated phone and then connects it to the number from the address book.
GrandCentral of Fremont, California is one of dozens of innovative companies that are taking advantage of Web-based software to allow consumers and businesses to make voice calls over the Internet while also working with regular phones.
The unified number allows people to get free from telephone providers in a similar way that web-based email accounts liberated people from relying on Internet service providers.
GrandCentral’s voice mail messages and phone calls can be recorded and saved for access via phone, email, or web browser.
These are complementary services to already-established phone services. For example, a person with multiple phone numbers can set them all to ring when certain people call.
The acquisition marks another move against eBay’s Skype. Longtime allies Google and eBay have been in increasing competition in the areas of online payment systems, auctions, and advertising marketplaces.
eBay Inc. unit Skype, a pioneer in the Internet phone market, has signed up more than 200 million users for its free or low-cost phone services globally. Newer names in the field include venture-backed firms Jajah, Jangl, Jaxtr and Rebtel, which together have signed up millions of users in just the past year.
GrandCentral was founded in late 2005 by Craig Walker and Vincent Paquet, who worked together while running Web-calling pioneer Dialpad Communications. Google’s biggest rival, Yahoo Inc., acquired Dialpad in June 2005.
The idea for GrandCentral was borne out of Walker’s frustration upon landing at a local airport and realizing he needed to check three voicemail mail boxes — one for his cell phone, another for work and one for his Blackberry phone.
“You get a single phone number that forwards to all of your phones, giving you one number for life,” Walker and Paquet said in a statement on GrandCentral’s Web site confirming the deal.
The startup fits into Google’s current lineup of products and its philosophy. With Gmail and Google Talk, GrandCentral’s recorded conversations and voicemail messages could be stored just like Gmail emails and Google Talk’s chat messages. And the voice recordings would be searchable as well. GrandCentral’s idea of uniting all phones in one number square with Google’s stated goal of uniting all of a person’s personal and professional online tools.
On its Web site, GrandCentral said it was pleased about the acquisition because it would assure users that their GrandCentral numbers will be around for the long term, no matter how many times users move or change jobs or phone providers.
GrandCentral has been holding public tests of its service for several months. Current GrandCentral customers will continue to have uninterrupted service, Google said.
However, one feature that allowed users to upload their own audio tracks to create ringtones now will be limited to licensed music, GrandCentral said on its own site.
“We are really excited to welcome the GrandCentral team to Google,” said Chan.
While we are moving their technology over to Google’s network, a limited number of invitations to receive GrandCentral unified numbers will be available for users who sign up at http://www.grandcentral.com, it said.
It is interesting the forays Google has made into the voice communications world recently. This acquisition comes at a time when the company began to offer free directory assistance services, has tested Google Phonebook, has had disagreements with telecom giants like AT&T, and is rumored to be interested in the 700 MHz wireless spectrum about to come to auction.