One number that rings all your phones

I just signed up as a beta tester for GrandCentral, an innovative phone system that sends incoming calls to all of your phones.

Here's their description:

What is GrandCentral?

Get all the same calls, but in a whole new way.

GrandCentral doesn't replace your phones; we just link them together and help them do more. How do we do that? We give people One Number...for Life^TM - a number that's not tied to a phone or a location - but tied to you.

With GrandCentral, you can be reached with a single number, answer a call at any phone you want, seamlessly switch phones in the middle of a call, and even know whether a call is important before you take it.

What else can I do with GrandCentral?

We're not your typical phone company. And these aren't your typical features.

• Check your messages by phone, email, or online
• Keep all your messages online for eternity
• Record and store your phone calls (just like voicemail)
• Quickly (and secretly) block an annoying caller
• Click-to-dial from your address book
• Surprise your callers with a custom voicemail greeting
• Forward, download, and add notes to your messages

I heard about GrandCentral on a Leo Laporte podcast a month or two ago and requested an invitation. It came this weekend and I finally took the time this afternoon to activate my free account, using a Jonesboro, Ark., number, since that's where I expect to be soon and it might as well be a local call for folks there.

You can sign up for an invitation here.

Sign-ups get to forward invitations to 10 other people and I've sent them to my sons, their wives and a handful of friend who I think might find it useful.