Have you tried Google Voice? If not, I think I can understand why. It's one of those services that sounds a little confusing--and perhaps not terribly useful.

But Google Voice is a pretty cool tool, and it can solve more than a few hassles. Let's take a look at three GV perks you might not have known about.

(Note: I'm assuming that you've already signed up for a GV account. If not, just visit google.com/voice and follow the instructions. You'll need to have some sort of Google account already, like, say, Gmail.)

1. You can use it to send text messages. Why bother pulling out your cell phone and typing on its tiny keyboard every time you want to send a text message?

If you're at your computer, you can simply open up Google Voice, click Text, enter the recipient's phone number, and type your message. Click Send and you're done. Best of all, replies will pop up right there, so you can hold an entire SMS conversation right in your Web browser.