I saw this mentioned in this months MacWorld and had to check it out.
After a few days, all I can say is yikes, this is really a handy piece of free telecom functionality.
I often want to save voice mail to my ever present hard drive, whether it be for fun or to keep track of the ineptitude of any given CSR situation I am currently embroiled in. Up until now I thought it was pretty convenient that all I had to do was boot up some recording software and hold the mic up close to the speakerphone while my message played back. Now, how archaic is that?
Since I spend a significant portion of my day at my computer, it also feels pretty darn convenient that while using CallWave I get instant email notification of all incoming voice mail, that I can listen to those voicemails without moving my hiney or worrying whether or not my phone is on, or in the car, or at the bottom of my man-purse. And even though I hear the forthcoming iPhone is going to have something along the lines of online accessible voice mails, until I decide to actually plonk down 500 beans for it, CallWave is gonna fit the need pretty darn well.
In a nutshell
Callwave is online voicemail
Callwave works with virtually all cell carriers, there was not even a momentary hiccup with my Cingular account.
Using Callwave you have access to your voicemail online and the option of having each and every message emailed to you as a .WAV file
Callwave is free.
What it is doing?
When you sign up, the online widget gives you a multi-digit code that you plug into your cell phone, the code is telling your service provider to forward all calls to the CallWave voicemail phone service.
So, now all you incoming calls go directly to CallWave. Your existing voicemail box will be empty. Yes, you have to set up a new voice prompt, and yes it is very easy to do and yes using CallWave feels exactly like using your existing voicemail system. All the prompts I am used to still work, like 4 to replay, 7 to delete and 9 to save calls.
Why is CallWave doing this?
Like many services I have tried over the years like the free faxing services I used to use (eFax), CallWave is hoping you will want to upgrade to a premium service of some sort. For all I know they will discontinue this free service, since it is really the only thing I could ever imagine wanting from them, so why not take advantage of this little beauty while it lasts?
Up/Down sides?
As with any service, of course there is the feeling of, “why do I have to change anything in order to have what I want.” Well, you don’t, but if you are like me and want a little more flexibility with your voicemail, CallWave might be just for you.
When you forward your incoming calls to CallWave, they are no long accessible through your providers voice mail because they don’t exist there, they have been forward to CallWave, thus there is no notification from your cell provider. That is why you need to turn on “cell phone notification” in your CallWave account, that way you get a very detailed text message each time a call comes in.
UPS:
Instant text message with detailed incoming voicemail info
email notification
savable voicemail.
DOWNS:
Re-recording your OEM
No little “voicemail” icon on your phone
Re-mapping your voicemail speed dial key on your phone.
What do I need to do in order to not miss anything?
1. Go to Callwave and create a “Visual Voicemail” account. Callwave will tell you exactly what to do, punch a bunch of numbers into your cell phone and hit send. If you want to undo the service, they tell you how to do that as well.
2. Log into your Callwave account, go to the settings tab and select the “message alerting and delivery” button. There you will be able to turn on/off both email delivery and cell phone delivery options. I would recommend turning them both on for the following reasons: One, you get a copy of each message sent to your email box in a savable .wav format and two, you get a text message sent to your phone with all the information you could ever want about the incoming voicemail, name, phone number, time, length, etc. Much better that just getting a little blip on your cell to let you know that “some” kind of a voicemail is waiting for you.
3. Call your cell number from your cell or a land line and create a customized OEM, just like you do with all your phone services.
4. Assign your cell number to a speed dial option on your cell phone. Remember, you are no longer using your providers voicemail, so when you press and hold the “1” key the answer will be “You currently have no messages” (you can re-map your “1” key as well and Callwave tells you how here)
5. Relax and enjoy listening to your voicemail over and over, dissecting each and every moment for eternity.
7.3.2007 update:
CallWave has updated their free services. Now you get:
Archiving of all calls recieved, forever and ever. Never lose a voicemail!
A thing called vText that sends a slightly misinterpreted computer translation of the contents of your call to you as a text message, so you know what the voicemail is about. I guess the vText is only going to be free during the beta period.
