Ultimately, the risk of porting your number into Google Voice isn't too high, if only for one reason: You can always change your mind. I confirmed with a Google spokesperson this evening that users can opt to port their numbers out of Google Voice at any time, if they so choose. So if you ever decide you'd like to take your number back and put it in the hands of a carrier or a VOIP service, you have that right; all you have to do is initiate a port from your new provider.

JR Raphael is a PCWorld contributing editor and the author of the blog. You can find him on both and .