Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Michael Graff Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Phonemate ADAM: All Digital Answering Machine Message-ID: <10990@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 14 Aug 90 23:32:04 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: graff@mlpvm2.iinus1.ibm.com Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 35 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 576, Message 10 of 12 Last Sunday's Macy's insert in the {San Jose Mercury News} has an interesting item on page 59. It's a new Phonemate answering machine that records incoming and outgoing messages digitally, without cassette tapes. I've seen machines that used a digital recording for the outgoing message, but this is the first one I've seen that records the incoming messages digitally. Some of the highlights: "Listen to messages at a faster speed without that distorted 'chipmunk' effect." "You no longer have to wait for rewind or reset." "Save, skip, or repeat individual messages with voice confirmation." The ADAM has a built-in phone and is "sale" priced at $200. Speaking of answering machines, I know the Caller ID discussion in TELECOM is closed for the time being, but here's a twist I don't recall seeing discussed. Since many new answering machines tell you the date and time when a call was received, it seems like it would not be much more trouble for an answering machine to have Caller ID built in and tell you the phone number of the caller. Michael [Moderator's Note: Nothing is technically wrong with your idea, except of course that unlike the date and time, derived from the answering machine's own resources, the caller identication would have to be sent from the telco. I'm sure the information sent by telco could be stored on a chip somewhere and read back to you with the time and date. PAT]