Nerd Vittles has a really good primer on how to connect the Google Voice client to any Asterisk system, as well as reports on progress for a Python interface for Google Voice.

Basically, with a little tweaking you can use a Google Voice account for free U.S. calling and SMS from Asterisk phone systems by leveraging a DID with free inbound calling. Nerd Vittles provides an in-depth look at the benefits of this set-up, as well as all the code necessary to make it work.

VoIP opinion blog truvoipbuzz.com takes the opposite approach in an editorial about eight reasons why you should not use Google Voice as your primary phone number. The article lists limitations in carrier networks, spotty SMS reception, and overall reliability issues as evidence that Google Voice is not a good choice for your main line.

I’m impressed by Google voice’s international rates, especially to mobile devices, but the voicemail transcription is really awful currently. I tested it several times and found about a 60 percent success rate, which left the messages largely indecipherable. I did not have problems, however, with excessive rings between connections, as some have noted. If you’ve got an account, what are your thoughts on Google Voice and its performance so far?