[Samsung Infuse 4G] DesElms:
Google Voice messages do not count against the phone's AT&T SMS messaging count.

Google Voice introduces a whole new number with unlimited voice calling minutes (with no long-distance charges) from anywhere in the US to anywhere in the US or Canada, (plus unlimited text messages to/from both those places, as well); along with its own voicemail (which you may or may not want to actually use if you prefer to have all voicemail land in one place... specifically the phone's AT&T voicemail; or you could use it instead of AT&T-provided voicemail; or both... your call).

Google Voice is true VoIP, so any phone calls, SMS messages, etc., all happen using the phone's AT&T

data

(3G/4G) plan, not the phone's normal AT&T telephony (voice calls, text messaging) plan. Regarding texts, though -- and this is partly why I think some people with certain Samsung phones get confused -- you can set things on the phone so that incoming texts to the Google Voice number either make their own noise on the phone, and may be seen/replied-to only in the Google Voice app, or you can have them integrate with your normal text messages as far as how they appear on the phone. In neither case do they count against the phone's AT&T messaging limit.

Parenthetically, if text messages -- and by that, I mean the normal SMS/MMS to your AT&T phone number, and not Google Voice SMS -- is a concern, I've found that the AT&T unlimited texts with combination unlimited voice calls to cell phones (regardless of provider) is pretty useful. I forget what it costs for individuals, but on a family plan it's only $30 for all phones on the plan; and the first thing I noticed after three phone bills is that our number of regular voice calling minutes, through the AT&T (not the Google Voice) phone number, is seriously reduced because my wife, at least, pretty much mostly only calls other cell phones. I make a lot of business calls to business landline numbers, so I still use a lot of minutes; but with her minutes so seriously reduced because she calls (and receives calls from) so many cell phones, and because we've got the unlimited voice call minutes to other cells with combination unlimited texts plan, I'm toying with reducing the number of regular calling minutes on the family plan. But I want to have a few more months of bills to see if we ever get close to our current voice minutes before I do that. Still, the unlimited-texts-with-unlimited-voice-minutes-to-other-cells-(regardless-of-carrier) plan is way cool... for whatever that's worth.

The bottom line, though, regarding your question, is that nothing you do on Google Voice counts against either AT&T voice calling minutes, or AT&T text (SMS or MMS) messaging; however, both voice calling and texting via Google Voice uses the AT&T 3G/4G data plan. Fortunately, voice calls via Google Voice are fairly low bandwidth; and text messages, at a maximum of only 140 bytes per message, barely use any of your data plan at all, to speak of. Just, if you use Google Voice for voice calls, pay attention to how much bandwidth a typical 10 minute call makes, and then adjust your overall use accordingly. The 64-thousand-dollar-question has always been whether a typical month's worth of voice calls via Google Voice would actually be cheaper, in real dollars paid to AT&T for 3G/4G data, than would that same month's worth of calls had they been made via regular AT&T Wireless voice calling.

Another FYI: Google Voice, for most users, is SMS-only (no MMS); though, that said, it appears that Google's slowly rolling MMS out to all Google Voice users.

SEE: http : // bit . ly / x9BH3m (remove spaces to make the link work)

Hope that helps!

___________________________________

Gregg L. DesElms

Napa, California USA

gregg at greggdeselms dot com