Your Voicemail to Email Options
Voicemail to email is a new type of service that sends your voicemail messages directly to your email inbox. This means that you don't have to call your voicemail service anymore or wade through any annoying menus. Just check your email, and there are your messages.
There are lots of different voicemail to email services available. Since it's so convenient, every platform is coming out with its own version. Each has its own way of getting your messages to you.
Save Your Messages to MP3
The most common type of voicemail to email service saves your messages as soon as they're recorded and then sends them to your inbox as MP3s. MP3 is an audio file format that any PC or mobile device can read. You'll get a message in your email with the audio file as an attachment and you can listen to the message at your leisure. It's easy to delete once you've listened to it, and if it's important, you can download and save it to your computer.
Read Your Voicemail Messages
Some services actually transcribe the message for you into text format. They use state-of-the-art voice transcription software to write the text. While these software programs occasionally make slight mistakes, especially if your caller has an accent or a bad connection, they're pretty accurate. The main advantage of text is that you can read it at your leisure. If it's a long message, you can skim it for the exact information that you need.
Notification Systems
If you don't want to keep constantly checking your email throughout the day, you can choose a notification service. Notification services let you know when a voicemail message has been taken down, and you can then check your email and get the message whenever it's convenient for you. You can have the system notify you by Instant Messaging, email, phone, chat or pager.
Getting Set Up
Getting set up with a service is easy. Some devices, like Blackberry phones, come with a voicemail to email service built-in. It just takes a few minutes to activate it by signing up for voicemail service, choosing a password and deciding on your settings. There are also virtual phone companies that offer this service as a stand-alone service or as part of a comprehensive features package.
No More Voicemail Menus
Voicemail to email is a service designed with busy people in mind. Because phone lines are now run over the Internet, services such as this are fast and cheap. It saves you lots of time because you don't have to deal with any kind of voicemail menu. You can get your messages instantly whenever you want to by checking your email. Once you've got voicemail to email, you'll wonder how you ever survived without it.
