Digital telephone

The answering machine has come a long way since it was first invented in 1904. This device initially used magnetic tape when recording messages from incoming calls, but that tape is now being replaced by the more efficient microchip in digital machines. Once only available as a stand alone equipment, the answering machine is now often... more »

Voicemail is a method of organizing, storing and managing telephone messages. Broadly used, the term could also refer to messages on answering machines, though technically an answering machine is a tool that only answers the phone with a pre-recorded message and allows voice recording of the caller. Voicemail systems can do this and... more »

Digital telephones convert your voice into a digital signal that travels over the Internet or a private network before being converted back into a voice at the other end. From the consumer's end, digital telephones works the same way as old phones, but with better sound quality and more features. more »

Telephone service technology continues to evolve. It has gone all the way from the beginning of telephone service, which required an operator to place calls, to "party" or shared lines, to cordless telephones, to mobile telephones, many of which have multiple functions besides placing and receiving calls. Digital telephone service is... more »