In a blog post late tonight on the official Google Blog is details of how Google is shaking off the dust that has settled on GrandCentral, the service they acquired way back in July 2007. GrandCentral provides users with voice features traditionally associated with business IP PBXs, such as a single virtual phone number that rings to multiple of your other phone numbers such as home, work, mobile, call screening, and web accessible voicemail. The free service is wildly popular with its existing users, but has languished since the Google acquisition and subsequent termination of new account signups.

According to the Blog post Google is planning a relaunch of the service under the Google Voice moniker. Along with the relaunch it looks like they will be adding some killer features, such as voicemail transcription, low-priced international calls, integration with Goog-411, and archival/indexing of all of your SMS messages. This all comes delivered on a new Google-ized user interface. The voicemail transcription is particularly interesting considering that there are existing services our there that charge a fee and use a human to transcribe your messages and send them to you.

Google has promised to roll out the service first to existing GrandCentral users in the next few days, and then to allow sign ups for new users. In fact if you point your web browser to http://voice.google.com you are greeted by a traditional Google looking login page, except it is branded for the new service. However, despite the fact that the homepage says Google Voice is open for GrandCentral, it is not, you are greeted by a Server Error after attempting to login, and the Learn More link at the bottom of the page takes you to non-existent Google Support pages.

As a current GrandCentral User, I am stoked about this news, as I was fearing that Google was going to let the service die much as it did with Dodgeball. I will update this blog post as I hear more.

Today Google launched their new Google Sync Product that allows you to sync your Google Calendar and Gmail Contacts to your Windows Mobile and iPhone devices. To do this they have licensed Microsoft’s Activesync protocol, just as Apple did to allow the iPhone to sync to a Microsoft Exchange server.
This is significant because it immediately opens up the majority of existing smart phone owners to functionality previously only offered to corporate users of Exchange servers, at no cost. Which makes the service ideal for smaller companies and Independent Consultant/Freelancer types. What is even more ideal about the service for these types of people is that it also works with Google Apps for your Domain. Can you say free Exchange Server?

The second reason that this is significant is that it virtually negates the need for Apple’s MobileMe service, as it provides virtually the same functionality at no cost. I am sure Apple is not pleased about this.

As great as this service is, there are some downsides:

-The Activesync protocol only allows you to setup one Activesync account per mobile device. So if you have a Smartphone that is already syncing to your corporate Exchange server, you cannot setup another to sync to Google. This is not Google’s fault, nor is it the device manufacturer’s fault, this is the way Microsoft designed Activesync. In many of the comments on Google’s blog posting about this new service people are laying blame at Google and Apple’s door, when it does not belong there.

-It does not use Activesync to deliver email. At this time Google is still using IMAP or POP to deliver mail to devices. This is a downside because it makes the process of getting all of your data to your device more convoluted, possibly more problem prone and bandwidth intensive.

-By using Activesync there is no way to sync Google Docs. While this may not sound significant it would be helpful to be able to sync documents and files over to your mobile device. This is functionality that Microsoft will be making available shortly through their Live Mesh service that is currently in beta.

-It does not sync Tasks. One of the core functions of any personal information management system is the ability to create and organize tasks. Activesync already has functionality to sync tasks from an Exchange-based account natively, but Google has not implemented functionality to sync your Gmail tasks as of yet.

-It does not work on Google’s own G1 Android phone. While it appears that Google has licensed Activesync for pushing data to mobile devices from its services, it has not implemented Activesync on the Android platform, which means that Android users are out in the cold on this one.

None of the downsides listed are deal breakers in my mind for the average user, and following in the grand Google tradition of release then iterate, I am sure that they will be able to work through many of these issues in short order.

Many companies spend money on IT projects to fufill their need to have the latest and greatest toys and systems. However most do not evaluate how these projects impact their productivity. Often there is a direct relationship between Tech Spending and Productivity enhancements, however it is not the only thing that can enhance productivity.

The below presentation I have given on this very topic. It is somewhat incomplete, as it is meant to be narrated, but you will get the idea.

Maximize Productivity Using Information Technology Spending

It looks like Google finally did bailout of their proposed Ad Deal with Yahoo in an effort to avoid a long legal battle with the DOJ, which was ready file suit to block the deal. I had advocated this in a recent post. This was the right thing to do on Google’s part, and they were right to delay the deal until the DOJ had time to review it. One would think this would cause Yahoo stock to tank, but it appears that their is also renewed hope of a Microsoft deal causing the stock to rise. While I was at one time opposed to a deal with Microsoft, my opinion is now changed, I think they should do it.

It is being reported today that Google may bailout of it’s proposed partnership with Yahoo on Ad serving. The deal was announced in June as a way to provide Yahoo a lifeline and cover with it’s shareholders during the Microsoft hostile takeover fiasco. However, thanks to intense lobbying from Microsoft and complaints by advertisers that they “may see” higher ad costs as a result, so the DoJ is looking into it for antitrust violations, and it appears Google is having second thoughts.

Frankly, I do not blame them. I would scrap it too. They did this to assist a fellow company in need to escape from being absorbed into the abyss that is Microsoft. While I am sure they may have squeaked out a tidy profit from the deal, I have a hard time beleiving that this was their ultimate goal. With the added presure and scrutiny from the press and governement, not to mention the legal costs, I am sure whatever profits and goodwill they had hoped for have all but evaporated. Another cause maybe the potential for a tie up between Yahoo and AOL. Any potential deal with AOL could change the dynamic of the deal with Google, as AOL has its own competing ad serving platform.

Regardless of what happens, I am still glad that the deal occured in the first place, as it seemed to be a nail in the coffin of the Microsoft bid. My only request is that Yahoo now do something with the lifeline it was given, such as buying AOL and integrating their already disparate other web properties. I think that this is something that AOL can help them with as they have long been the master of creating well integrated content and properties.

Yesterday Microsoft announced, among other things, that they would soon release a web-based version of their office suite, along the lines of Zoho Office and Google Docs. This announcement is a major step forward for the company and allows them to target users of other browsers and operating systems. As Micheal Arrington said, “Thank you Google” for kicking them in the shorts enough that they actually created a product that people want, rather than delivering a product and telling people this is what you get.

However, unless something changes Microsoft could still fumble the ball on this one through a confusing brand strategy for Office on the web. Currently, Microsoft has the following Office related websites/brands:

• Office Online — A website where users can download templates for the Office software
• Office Live Workspace — A website or sharing files between the Office desktop software and Web
• Office Live Small Business — A service that Microsoft offers for domain registration, website & email hosting. It also has some online CRM and project management components.

Add to that the new brand of “Office Web Applications” for these new web-based versions of the Office Applications. Also be sure not to confuse any of this with the Windows Live branded software and websites, and Mesh.com, which we will not even go into here. Personally, I think that Microsoft needs to pick a single overall brand for the web and create a consumer & business strategy around them. They started down this road with the original “Live” brand, but they have bobbled it terribly and managed to confuse most people that I have talked to. It looks like they will continue this trend with the release of these new products, which is upsetting because they look great, and should serve as a wake up call to Google to get their products out of beta and make some real improvements to them.