The Basics: Answering Machines

Whether you're shopping for a telephone with a built-in answering machine or a stand-alone unit, answering machines now provide many features, such as toll saver and pager notification. If your primary communication mode is via telephoning, you may need an answering machine that is not part of your telephone system.

Now that the quality of digital recording has improved, digital answering machines are becoming the industry standard. With these units, there are fewer moving parts that can malfunction or break down. Digital technology also reduces the size of the machine while providing increased recording space. Many answering machines allow for separate message boxes for different people in the house--usually up to four for many machines. If you manage a large number of names and phone numbers, or if you want to screen callers, answering machines allow you to do just that.

How to Shop

Two of the most important features of answering machines are total recording time and easy remote access. If you have multiple phone lines and a fairly high call volume, you'll probably want more than the 15 minutes of recording time supplied by low-end models. Keep in mind that the capacity listed usually must accommodate your outgoing greetings as well.

You probably will not be able to test remote access capabilities at a store, so make sure you read the operating manual to see how well the functions are configured and whether or not voice prompts are offered when calling in to retrieve messages. There's nothing more annoying than accidentally erasing a message because you had to guess around for a function key. Also, be sure you check out how the answering machine handles a power outage. Some machines require a backup battery, while other will store messages in a temporary memory that is not erased when your power goes out.