The basic elements of the "Ansophone" are a telephone and an instrument closely resembling a dictaphone. When the party wishes to leave the office he talks into the latter instrument, telling it what time he will return, or where he can be reached, then sets the phone for operation. Should a person call during absence of the business man, the speaking device will automatically go on the line and tell the party calling what the business man told it to tell.
This was invented back in 1932, assuming that it was intended for businessmen without personal secretory.
When I saw this newspaper cutting, the
went off. Why can't we have a service (from our mobile phone operator) that allows us to customise specific voice mail message we want our callers to hear?Instead of those boring voice mail message, why can't we have something like:
1. I am in a movie, please call back later.
2. In a meeting. Not likely to be available for dinner tonight.
3. Sleeping.
These voices could be pre-recorded, allowing users to select from a list or record their own voices instantaneously.
These days, people update their status regularly via Jaiku or Twitter. For those who don't have internet or 3G access on their phone, a customised voice mail message might do the job.
