OK - it's a pretty awesome setup. Or at least it's fun to play with, and it's almost free, so there's that.
I have the Obi200 set up, and it's working fine. No weird networking required, it's just plugged right in the back of our standard wireless access point / router / fw thingee and it is ready to go. Online docs make it seem as if you may need to manually open a bunch of different ports, but that wasn't necessary.
Configuring it to work with our Google Voice number took only a few minutes, and I was then able to both place outgoing calls and receive calls using that new GV number. That takes 1 (of 4) ports on the gadget. I then set up the E911 service with Anveo, which costs $15/year. It also was quick to set up, and it takes the 2nd of 4 ports. Once configured, you can dial "933" instead of 911, and it confirms that it is set up properly with your address.
I noticed that we weren't getting the caller ID Name field for inbound calls, and on the outbound calls GV wasn't providing our name either, just the GV number and the text says "unknown". Sadly, there is no easy fix for that outbound problem; GV doesn't provide info for outbound CNAM support. But there is a quick (and almost free) way to get inbound CNAMs again, with the same gadget.
You need to set up a different VOIP service for one of the remaining ports on the box. Callcentric offers very cheap inbound numbers, and for awhile now they are even offering completely free inbound numbers in NY. You need to pay $3 (total, not recurring) for a 911 recovery fee, but they will then give you a free NY number. I chose one with the 646- area code. Once your account is set up on Callcentric, you then go back and configure the Obi for that number in its 3rd port. Finally, you go to your Google Voice dashboard, and you add that new number as the only forwarding phone, disabling the Google Chat checkbox that was used to ring the Obi. Callcentric provides the CNAM data all the way through, at no charge.
So callers dialing in still call our new google voice number, which immediately transfers it via Callcentric, which rings the Obi. This happens pretty much instantly, there is no delay or downgrade in call quality. We see the incoming caller ID number and name. The callers have no idea they actually came in on a 646- number, they only know the california one they called.
For outbound calls, the Obi still uses the Google Voice number, so people receiving our calls will see our number as normal, but again, it doesn't provide our name along with that. This is fixable if we chose a paid plan through Callcentric, VOIP.ms, or any of a number of paid providers, but free makes it easier to live with this small problem.
I then tried to set up our other Google Voice numbers to also have the option of ringing our home phone, by pointing them to the new Callcentric #. But - I think I missed a configuration tweak, so it kept taking that new 646 number away from the original google voice number I needed it on, rather than keeping it on both. So - I went back to Callcentric and got another 646# (no $3 charge this time), and configured it for the 4th port in the box. I then pointed both of our personal GV #'s to be able to forward calls immediately to that 4th number. I think I can fix this for all Google Voice inbound calls to point to that same 1st Callcentric number, which would make this 4th number unnecessary.
But - Callcentric also supports inbound faxes automatically on these free numbers, and emails the fax file to your account email address. I may keep the 4th number just for that purpose, and point any (rare) faxes in its direction so I can cancel our very low dollar myfax account.
Ann was not a happy camper last night as I was playing with this way past midnight, and every time I had to re-add a number to a google voice account, it has to dial that number and ring those phones to confirm they are real. Luckily our kids sleep through anything.
