Voicemail

Verizon Is Wise to Those ‘Similar Area Code’ Spam Calls

The wireless network is working on a filter to help block unwanted communications.

Kill Voicemail By Ignoring It Completely Using This App

What’s the use of voicemail? It’s a hotly contested topic. Some love it. Some loathe it. For those of you in the latter group, there’s No More Voicemail. The app is simple. When your phone would usually intercede and record a voicemail, No More Voicemail takes over, redirecting the call to another number that just…

Siri May Transcribe Your Voicemail Because Who Uses Voicemail Anymore?

Phones aren’t really used for their original purpose anymore: Making actual phone calls. In fact, most of us don’t even want to deal with listening to missed voicemail—and Apple’s reportedly working on a fix for that, too. According to Business Insider, Siri may soon be able to transcribe your voicemail for you. And if you…

This Is the Worst Thing About Voicemail

Regardless of how you feel about voicemail, I think we can all agree that this is the worst. I don’t want to call up and listen, Android. Just let me dismiiiiiissssssssss.

You’re Wrong About Voicemail

My mother is untrainable. At least, as far as voicemail is concerned. We’d repeat the same song and dance over and over. Me: Stop leaving me voicemails. Her: I don’t understand. This went on for years, until I figured out she was right all along. You can hear the author of this post read it…

What’s Your Most Garbled Google Voice Transcript?

Google Voice transcriptions read like they came out of the ass-end of a hair dryer. They’re surprisingly terrible, especially since Google voice recognition is generally pretty reliable. Let’s all point at laugh at your worst examples of botched voicemails, Google-style. Might Google Voice’s transcribing robots office inside of a wind tunnel? That seems like the…

Facebook for iOS now lets you send in-app video and voice messages—because voicemails weren’t annoying enough already.

Mailing Recorded Messages Was Once an Actual Alterative To Long Distance Phone Charges

Sherman, set the wayback machine to ridiculous because back in 1967, Smith-Corona—best known for its typewriters—actually sold a device called the Mail Call. What did it do? Let users record messages on small cartridges and mail them to anyone with a matching device. In a way it was like the earliest form of voicemail, except…

Is There a Single Good Reason to Leave Voicemail?

Why do people leave voicemail? To annoy me? Us? There is absolutely no point, as far as I can tell. If you want to tell me something, and I’m not picking up my phone, send a text. At this point, voicemail is nothing more than an anxiety inducing surprise package. A red bubble of the…

How News of the World Hacked Everybody’s Phones

For a while, leaving your cell unattended seemed like the biggest threat to phone security. But this recent business is a reminder that there are savvier ways someone can violate your phone—without even touching it. Details are still emerging as to how, exactly, News of the World reporters got into everybody’s giblets. But here are…

Rise of the Hacker Journalist

Milly Dowler vanished in 2002. It set off a huge sensation in the UK, similar to the Natalee Holloway case in the United States. Now, reports have surfaced that News of the World hacked into her voicemail. According to the New York Times: [T]he newspaper not only intercepted messages left at the cellphone number of…

News of the World Grants “Unreserved Apology” to Victims of Voicemail Hacking Scandal

Eight victims of the News of the World’s “phone hacking” scandal have received an unprecedented apology from that publication this week. The apology marks a 180-degree reversal for NotW, which had maintained for several years that the job was the work of one reporter. It was not, the paper officially admitted this week, and the…

Looking for a Better Voicemail Transcription Service?

If you really like the idea of Google Voice’s voicemail-to-text transcription feature, but think it sucks in practice, you might want to try Yap’s Android app/service, promising similar functionality on AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon for free. [Yap via Fast Company]

AT&T Adds Visual Voicemail For U-Verse Landlines

It comes with a few big “ifs”—if you’re a U-Verse subscriber, if you have a landline, if you have an iPhone or BlackBerry—but if you meet those preconditions, AT&T’s Voicemail Viewer will give your home visual voicemail superpowers. The free app lets you access home voicemails from your phone, using roughly the same visual voicemail…

New Google Voice Android Widgets Bring Faster Inbox Access

Google has introduced a new pair of Google Voice widgets that display your voicemail inbox contents and account settings. Without leaving your home screen, you’ll be able to read messages, send free texts, and view your credit balance. The widget pair will interface directly with the existing Google Voice app, and is available for download…

Audioo: Voicemails From Last Night

What could possibly be better than Texts From Last Night? The same thing, but with voicemails! Weird, random, creepy, hilarious voicemails. I honestly don’t think there’s a better time-waster on the internet right now. Here’s just a taste: They’re all collected at Audioo, a site that lets you browse their aural menagerie by category or…

This Is How Google Voice Will Ruin Your Relationships

Long ago, someone wrote about how Google is out to control your dog and marry your wife. I don’t know how right he was about all that, but I certainly know that Google Voice is out to ruin relationships. https://gizmodo.com/google-to-control-your-dog-personal-belongings-marry-329654 You see, reader Pascal wrote us about a recent experience he had with Google Voice’s…

What Is Google Voice? Let Google Tell You.

Maybe this is just me, but as innovation moves to the cloud, I find that simple concepts can become esoteric—like Google Voice. Here’s a handy explanation as to what the heck it actually does. This clip is actually just part one of twelve. Inside the GoogleVoice YouTube channel, you can find more specifics on what…

This Is Exactly Why I Don’t Check My Voicemail Anymore

There are times when I let my voicemail fill up to the point of callers getting the “Sorry. Mailbox is full. Please try again.” message. This is why. Click on the image for a closer look. Look, I’ll return missed calls even if you don’t command me to do so, I promise. Unless you’re annoying.…

Free Alternatives to AT&T’s $10/Month Voicemail-to-Text Service

We heard about AT&T’s Voicemail-to-Text service back in December, but now it’s being shoved down our throats again with email reminders aplenty. Why don’t we care about the $10/month service? Because we can get something better. For free. Google Voice and its transcribing powers were our first thought, but it’s not the only alternative. Ribbit…