Another vote for Google Voice.
I'm another happy Google Voice user. You can turn it on and off when you want it, forward it to whatever phone you want, text for free. And the person who you call / text only sees your Google Voice number, not your personal cell number, even if you're using your cell to contact them. You can even go online and get voice messages & texts through the Google Voice website. It really is the best thing out there for the kind of stealth work that we do.
[QUOTE=Little Conner;1277084]I've been using google voice since it came out. It's the best free thing out there. You can even get and send texts through it. The girl will only see the number you gave them. Also, you can set your caller I'd to show it's coming from your Google Voice line. This is good cause girls call you from different numbers and you can put some annoying person's name in your contact to show up. This way if your wife or girlfriend sees you look at your phone and you can't answer it, you can just look at it and say "it's John from work, I'll talk to him later".[/QUOTE]
You do get a unique phone number.
[QUOTE=Mrkuyamandla; 1277695]You're not getting a unique phone number from google, right? I can't imagine they are giving people phone numbers for free or for very little $$$$.
So if people are sharing numbers, how does google know to transfer that call to you?[/QUOTE]Yes, you do get a unique number. There's no sharing or other code to enter; when someone dials my GV number it rings whatever phone I have chosen or Google Voice chat. I know people who pick a number that is local for friends / relatives and it saves long distance.
Your initial number is free; if you ever want to change it, a $10 fee applies. Google rocks.