I've been trying to make sense of recent news and theories about the future of Hangouts, SMS/MMS integration, and merging with Google Voice.
My main concern right now is that I want to continue having free SMS messages sent through my Google Voice number. I don't have any texting plan from my phone company -- my "real" number is secret to the world.
The facts:
- I have a Google Voice number that is public, for calling and free texting
- I have a secret "actual" Verizon phone number, SMS or MMS costs $0.25 per message
- Google Voice doesn't support MMS
- I do not want to activate SMS over Hangouts because I fear it will use my Verizon number which does not have free texting
Am I correct in my concerns? Should I hold off activating SMS in Hangouts because I will end up with a lot of fees from my carrier? Should I pay for an unlimited texting plan with Verizon because doing all of these things won't be free in the future anyway?
Google Hangouts + Voice Integration
Update Sept 10, 2014: Google has now merged Google Voice into Hangouts.