Google has rebranded and expanded its GrandCentral service as Google Voice. This is a dramatic announcement and, depending on the voice quality and reliability of the services, a potentially very big deal (think "next-gen telco"). 

We'll have a good deal more to say later. For now, here the services that Google Voice includes:

• Call screening - Announce and screen callers
• Listen in - Listen before taking a call
• Block calls - Keep unwanted callers at bay
• SMS - Send, receive, and store SMS
• Place calls - Call US numbers for free
• Taking calls - Answer on any of your phones
• Phone routing - Phones ring based on who calls
• Forwarding phones - Add phones and decide which ring
• Voicemail transcripts - Read what your voicemail says
• Listen to voicemail - Check online or from your phone
• Notifications - Receive voicemails via email or SMS
• Personalize greeting - Vary greetings by caller
• Share voicemail - Forward or download voicemails
• Conference calling - Join people into a single call
• Call record - Record calls and store them online
• Call switch - Switch phones during a call
• Mobile site - View your inbox from your mobile
• GOOG-411 - Check directory assistance
• Manage groups - Set preferences by group

Here's my post at Search Engine Land
Here's the Google Blog post and more discussion on Techmeme
Here's Google's explanatory video

Google Voice is getting very positive reviews from those who've used it, including the NY Times' David Pogue.

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Related: Comcast now says it's the third largest residential provider of phone services in the US:

Comcast Digital Voice now serves 6.47 million customers, which exceeds Qwest’s reported residential subscriber base.  The popularity of Comcast’s innovative offerings with consumers has enabled Comcast to add residential subscribers in each of the last twelve quarters.