Better Ways to Phone

Nowadays there are better ways to phone.

The simplest way is the speak into your smartphone and say “Call Smitty”,  or whomever.

For that to happen,  you need a contact for the nickname, separately from a contact for the full name, in your contact list.

But then, you will reach the one number in your contact list for Smitty, and not additional phones Smitty may have elsewhere

I use Google Voice  to solve that problem.

I use Google Voice to reach all my phones,  landline and cell phones, with one number which reaches me, everywhere...almost.

If I am not close to the phone at home, there is a better way to contact me quickly.

The Amazon Echo offers that alternative, whereby I can be reached anywhere in my apartment without going to the phone.

If the person calling or being called has Echo phoning set up,  I can just say “Alexa  call Smitty”,  or for an incoming call, simply say “Alexa Answer”.    Then, “Alexa Goodby”  when done.

For others to set up such calling, all that is necessary is for them to reinstall the Alexa app,  at which point they will be asked whether they would like to set up Alexa Echo phone.  You will have a list in the Alexa app of people you can reach that way.

Better than phoning,  which is intrusive,  is texting.     Texting allows you to leave a message  which appears on the phone so that he recipient can access it when convenient.      

Texting is simply done by voice, telling the smartphone or Echo to “Send a text message”.

Probably the most sure way to eventually reach me is simply to send an email message, again with voice.

Google Voice allows voice messages be received not only as voice calls but as (voice translated to text) messages when it is not possible to answer the call.   Both voice and text messages then  come to me by email.