Anybody know a simulated cell phone service on the Internet?

[constanze]

What I’m looking for is similar to the Fax services on the Internet*, only for a cell-phone.** Does anybody know a service, either free with ads or for a small fee?

I know there was one service to send phone messages (text read by a computer) to a landline (4 times an hour, no guarantee, with ads), but that was only sending. I need receiving.

• That is, if you don’t have a fax at home, but need to send or receive, you get a number that connects to an internet site, and your received fax arrives as image in your email. Some of these are ad-financed, some want a small fee.

** I don’t have a cell phone because I don’t have much use for it regularly, but now banks are starting to switch to mTANs from normal TANs and don’t always offer phone banking instead.

[ClaytonThroop]

@constanze

What I’m looking for is similar to the Fax services on the Internet*, only for a cell-phone.** Does anybody know a service, either free with ads or for a small fee?

I know there was one service to send phone messages (text read by a computer) to a landline (4 times an hour, no guarantee, with ads), but that was only sending. I need receiving.

• That is, if you don’t have a fax at home, but need to send or receive, you get a number that connects to an internet site, and your received fax arrives as image in your email. Some of these are ad-financed, some want a small fee.

** I don’t have a cell phone because I don’t have much use for it regularly, but now banks are starting to switch to mTANs from normal TANs and don’t always offer phone banking instead.

I’m not entirely clear what you’re asking for. Does Google Voice work? It can receive phone calls, and transcribe voicemails. It can also let you pick up with google talk if you’re logged into gmail at the time.

Can also send/receive texts.

[yoyodyne]

Google Calling is what’s available in Germany and it doesn’t do SMS.

[constanze]

@ClaytonThroop

I’m not entirely clear what you’re asking for. Does Google Voice work? It can receive phone calls, and transcribe voicemails. It can also let you pick up with google talk if you’re logged into gmail at the time.

Can also send/receive texts.

I don’t have a cell phone. For some things I would like the possibility to receive things like SMS (I think that’s how mTANs are sent) by giving a virtual cell phone number that ends up somewhere on the internet or in my email account.

I don’t know anything about Google Voice - is it a VoIP program? What about privacy (Google has a bad reputation there)?

[ClaytonThroop]

@constanze

I don’t have a cell phone. For some things I would like the possibility to receive things like SMS (I think that’s how mTANs are sent) by giving a virtual cell phone number that ends up somewhere on the internet or in my email account.

I don’t know anything about Google Voice - is it a VoIP program? What about privacy (Google has a bad reputation there)?

Google Voice assigns you a phone number that people can call/text. You can login to see any texts, or listen to any voicemails left. Optionally, you can have it email you whenever a text/voicemail arrives. I think it sounds like what you want. The number is just a normal cell phone number.

I’m not sure what countries it’s available in, and I can’t speak to any privacy matters.

[thelabdude]

Vonage offered some kind of a plan at one time. Maybe a cheap plan that only worked where you had wifi.

I had looked at prepaid at one time, but got tired trying to learn little details like how long I had to use the minutes I bought. I don’t think anybody is interested in customers that aren’t going to use the phone much.

We finally signed up as the third line on our son’s Sprint Plan. Even with us on the plan, they never use all their minutes.