One Number To Rule Them All

Over the summer, the New York Times ran an article about preferred means of contact – between work numbers, home numbers, personal and work cell phones, not to mention instant messenger, text and social media groups like Twitter and Facebook, it’s difficult to keep track of all the places we get messages, let alone the best way to get in touch with anyone else.

A company called Grand Central is trying to help sort that out. Recently acquired by Google, they’re in beta and available only by invitation for now, but the Wirefly team was able to swing an invitation and check out the service. Just like the train station, Grand Central acts as a single point or switching station for all your calls and allows you to decide which numbers ring when.

When you sign up for Grand Central you choose a new number from a list of available phone numbers in your selected area code. Then you enter your other numbers – home, cell, work, etc. Once you’ve activated your account you can personalize your settings with voicemail (which you can access online), call back tones, personalized ring tones, and even caller specific times for which phones ring when.

I can see some immediate applications – a child care provider could call both parents’ cell phones, work numbers, and the home phone with a single phone call, eliminating the round-robin of phone calls in an emergency. I have another friend who seems to move frequently and Grand Central means she can keep the same number and just update her home number on the web site. And it means you don’t really have to give everyone your cell phone number – just give them your Grand Central number and decide whether or not they have access to ring your cell phone or not.