Sony sold several popular cordless home phone systems in the 2000s with multi-handset support, answering machines and caller ID. Today, DECT 6.0, HD voice, Bluetooth pairing and VoIP integration are the features to prioritize.
Voicemail greetings can be funny or practical - and still respect callers' time. Use short, rotating messages, avoid copyrighted characters, and pair voicemail with quick alternatives like texts or visual voicemail.
Keep voicemail greetings short, clear, and appropriate to the audience. Use custom or templated messages carefully; avoid long music, offensive content, and oversharing.
A concise update on how telephone answering moved from tape recorders to solid-state devices, carrier voicemail, VoIP, and cloud/visual voicemail on smartphones.
Answering machines record calls locally on your phone line, unlike carrier voicemail. From Poulsen's 1898 telegraphone to today's solid-state units, answering devices evolved from tape to flash storage and still offer local control and privacy for some users.