GotVoice

GotVoice

People who know me well are aware that I never check the voicemail on my cell phone. The recordings stack up and gradually drop off after the expiration date because I hate not being able to skip to the end of 30 seconds of um, yeah, I just called, to say, um, can you call me back, um talk to you later..." If I see your number in my missed calls, I'll assume you called for a reason, call back and get the details in less time than it takes to dial. Contrast this with my Vonage service, which takes messages and emails them to my inbox. I love getting voicemail in my inbox. I can listen. When I realize there's nothing important beyond, call me back, I'll call back. Every once in awhile, I'll get a meaningful message providing details and the service pays off, but the email option puts me in control.

GotVoice is configurable to turn any voicemail service into an email deliverable or via their online interface. A scheduling feature checks messages twice daily or on your own custom schedule, cleaning out your inbox automatically. For the time being the accounts are free, which makes it even more valuable as an improvement to any voice mail service. This actually makes the voicemail on my cell phone useful again. The asking for some vague demographic information at the end, which is presumably for marketing purposes to support the service and are answered with the same honesty that any perpetually 29-year-old woman might convey. Current availability is limited to North America. An optional download manages messages outside your email inbox.