Any takers for voicemail?

Voicemail is a technology that, to me, has slipped into a crack. People are more likely to type out an SMS on their mobile phone than to even think about sending pre-recorded message to the intended receiver. My children used to have an old Sony Ericsson mobile that has multimedia function. You have an option of making a regular call, send a multimedia message, or send a voicemail. To send a voicemail, you simply choose the voicemail option, record your message, and then press "send". There is no need to type out any text messages, which is a hassle sometimes for the less adept. If you don't like how your recording sounds, you can delete and start all over again. If you want to play up the emotion in your message, you can certainly add high drama into it.

The voicemail can also be used instead of a regular email. That would be faster than typing. I haven't seen such a function in any email software yet, but I think it would be nice to be able to click a "reply by voicemail" option, record your response, and finish off by clicking "send". This is appropriate for certain messages where voice can convey more information than just text. It is good for busy people and for those who are prone to typing or spelling errors.

Voicemail has a wonderful role in comunication. It is unfortunate that this seems to have disappeared into oblivion in the plethora of communication tools the consumer is provided with today.