1. You can't put a fax machine on
a line that has voicemail. Faxes will never get through!
2. You have no visible indication
that messages are waiting for you. You need to pick up the phone to listen
for the special dialtone and ...........
3. You have to dial in to find
out how many messages are stored
4. Voicemail has no monitoring
facility. Once the system has answered the call you cannot listen-in (say
on Shabbat) and you cannot pick-up the handset and talk to the caller (intercept).
5. You cannot record live phone
calls
6. Voicemail doesn't support toll-saver.
This is a feature that saves you money when retrieving calls when away
from home. With an answerphones you only pay if you actually have a message
waiting for you.
7. Voicemail cannot be 'turned
off' remotely when away from the house (I'm not sure that it can be turned
off when you're in the house either)
8. Voicemail works out more expensive
in the long run (assuming your answerphone lasts you more than three years).
9. Messages in voicemail are erased
after only a few days so don't go away on holiday for too long!
10. Messages in voicemail are held
in some remote telephone exchange where any technician can have a listen.
Not very secure. Your answerphone is as secure as your house and any access
codes that you have.
11. Voicemail can hold a maximum
of 15 minutes worth of messages which is why it erases messages after only
a few days. Answerphones typically have 26 - 60 mins (digital) or
as long as the incoming tape (tape-machines.) With a tape machine, you
just change the tape and you can save all the old messages for ever!
12. Answerphones have an 'Answer Only' function that allows an outgoing message to be played without accepting incoming messages
13.
Modern digital answerphones which cost as little as $20 have multiple mail-boxes
so that all the family have their own virtual answering machine.
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