New technology for electronics has given consumers many choices in answering machine models. It used to be that your standard machine was a mechanical device that recorded messages onto a tape. Now, with the advent of digital sound, the customer can choose from elaborate digital machines, remote "voice mail" storage, or a number of other options. When thinking about a new machine, you'll have to decide if you want to go high-tech with a digital device, or stay old-school with an analog machine.
Instructions
1. Think about your message storage space needs. With an analog machine, you're limited to what the tape can hold. Digital machines generally have much more space. If you're a busy mailbox holder, you may want to go with digital to be sure all can leave their messages at once.
2. Think about sound quality. Most digital machines have better sound quality than analog ones, although it does depend on the mechanics of a specific machine. "Test drive" the machine to hear how good the sound is.
3. Consider flexibility. Many digital machines can "handle" separate messages, deleting one or more, or even compartmentalizing messages or "sorting." With the old analog, you're stuck with an unwieldy tape if you want to start organizing messages.
4. Take the machine's "structure" into account. When looking at machines, evaluate how much energy they will use to work and how quickly they may break down. Another drawback to analog machines is that all of the mechanical parts are prone to failure: over time, the tape as well as all the reader parts and swivel arms, etc. may be difficult to fix when they break. A digital machine is much more self-contained.
5. Decide what kind of record-keeping you like. One advantage of analog is that you have the messages all on tape. Some tapes are portable, most can be easily stored away from the machine in case of theft (or paranoia) issues. Also, some digital machines lack a backup battery power, and messages can theoretically get lost.
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