Email
to phone services can be most helpful for anyone without a computer of
Internet access...and that can be anybody at one time or another.
One of the latest services that is growing steadily is "email to
phone", whereby you can receive email messages by voice over the phone,
or send voice messages as emails from any phone – cell phone, satellite
phone or a regular land line.
When I first heard of this, I wondered, "Why would I want to listen to
my email instead of reading it?" But I soon learned that there are a
great many people who can stay in much better touch receiving email
messages by phone. Here is a list of the top ten reasons I have
complied to use an email to phone service:
Email to phone for busy people on the run
1. You can pick up a message any time, any where, even if you had not
planned to. Have you ever had that eerie feeling there was an urgent
email waiting for you? Now you can relieve your curiosity, deal with
the email and feel 100% assured that landing the sand trap was not a
result of email anxiety.
2. Receiving emails by phone is ideal for a busy person on the run.
Between the meetings and the restaurant and the cab, a busy person does
not always have the time to sit down in front of a computer. But he
always has time for his cell phone (You might have noticed this in
restaurants, theatre shows, etc.)
3. International travelers have a great use for email to phone
services, as they cannot always foretell the availability of a computer
or an Internet connection, nor how much time they might have between
flights, meetings, etc. This way, they can keep monitoring all their
urgent messages wherever they end up, and delayed flights will no
longer mean delayed business.
Email to phone for constant access
4. There are some places where you just can't plug into your computer
(or would not want to). On a boat, for instance. With email to phone
messaging, you can receive email while you relax on a boat, far from an
Internet connection. And yes, it IS relaxing to know you don't have to
fret about a missed email that could bring down the company or cost you
your job.
5. On a hunting or fishing trip, you might often find yourself with no
Internet connection. And you certainly won't have a computer with you
(I hope!). But you might have cell phone access. And if one of your
hunting buddies does drag along his PC from home, you can tell him to
get an email to phone service instead.
6. Check in at the cottage, without lugging a computer around. Need I
say more. It is indeed relaxing to know you don't have to fret about a
missed email that cost you your job. It is NOT relaxing to have to open
your eyes to look at a computer monitor.
7. There are also many countries where Internet access is not reliable,
even in parts of well-traveled countries. Who needs Internet for
emails, when you can receive them by phone?
8. Indeed, even in your own country, there might be areas you frequent
that are outside of the digital coverage area, where SMS and text
messaging are unavailable, such as driving through deserts or
mountains. Even with analog coverage or a regular phone line, you can
keep monitoring your email.
Special monitoring email by phone
9. Some people need instant alerts, and have to be in touch even while
in the lunch room or traveling between meetings. IT support people, who
subscribe to a website monitoring service are a perfect example. If a company's website goes down, the CEO won't
be pleased if 45 minutes later the IT manager says, "Sorry, I was out
to lunch."
10. Some people have the misfortune of having to communicate with
high-tech show-offs like me who use email to communicate. For these
unfortunate people who might otherwise be forced to adapt to 21st
century technology, email to phone messaging rides to the rescue. "Hah!
Now I can listen to email messages on my cell phone. And they thought
they could force me to adopt modern technology. Hah! I sure fooled
them!"
There you have it – my top ten reasons to use email to phone services.
Amazing how new ideas can turn even a stone-aged telephone into a
technological leap forward. Imagine what they'll do with boulders next.
