Wishbone: I've never heard about this before, but just read about it now. I have two immediate thoughts on this:
1. Man, think of the possibilities! Think of how easy this will make communication, and keeping track of your calls, messages and contacts. Voice recognition, automatic transcription of voicemails. How cool is that? :-D
2. Yikes, think of the possibilities! TSCTARTW (The Secret Cabal That Actually Rules The World) is going to have a field day with this. Think of how easy this will make tracing, tracking and controlling communication, and keeping track of your calls, messages and contacts. Voice recognition, automatic transcription of voicemails. How scary is that? :-O
Okay, tinfoil hat off. Seriously though, this is an AWFUL lot of VERY personal information to put in the hands of a private company, don't you think?
Access to voicemails and text messages: No worse than any other service. Only difference is that Google is not a phone company first.
Access to phone numbers: Honestly, I already kept phone numbers in my gmail address book, if only because I don't want to lose them. And it isn't like Google can't already find a lot of this information.
Keeping track of calls: Again, every phone company can already do this.l
Auto Transcription of voicemails: It isn't a tiny little man in a box. It is just voice recognition. So no worse than saving voicemails.
As for google voice itself: I like it. But I can't really migrate over until they implement replacing my cell phone number with my google voice number for outgoing calls, if only because I don't feel like having to explain to all my friends and family (and coworkers) that I have two phone numbers, but that they should only call one. But that is on their todo list,l and I will fully switch over then.