The Answering Machine
Before the Cellphone
Yes, people still use the cellphone to make phone calls! What would the phone be without the ability to ignore calls and send them to voicemail? Today, younger generations take the ability to leave voice messages for granted, but a physical device attached to the home phone was never required to miss that important message. Gone are the days of families gathering around the answering machine trying to record a message since the phone call could be for anyone in the household.
Ross Makes a New Answering Machine Message
A Physical Device
The most common answering machine required a user to attach the device to a phone, insert a blank cassette tape, and record a welcome. When the phone rang, the user had only a few rings to pick up the phone before the answering machine connected. The caller had an opportunity to leave a message, recorded on the cassette tape, and then the owner could play it back. The first answering machine development was a gradual process that dates to the late 19th century. There were several inventors and innovations, but the earliest tangible answering machine did not appear until the early 20th century.
George has the Answer
Telegraphone
One of the earliest attempts at creating an automatic response device was the "Telegraphone," invented by Valdemar Poulsen in 1898. The Telegraphone was designed to record telephone conversations onto a wire, allowing the user to replay later recorded messages. While not precisely an answering machine, it laid the foundation for recording and playing back audio messages. By 1903, Poulsen sold his patent to a group of investors. Forming the American Telegraphone Company of Washington, D.C., the Telegraphone was sold mainly as a scientific instrument. Regarding popularity in the public sector, only two people purchased Telegraphones.
1980s Answering Machine Cassette
Hörzufernsprecher
By the 1930s and 1940s, inventors began working on devices that could record and play back phone messages automatically. The Dictaphone, a wax cylinder recording device, dominated the business recording market, and a working playback phone device would revolutionize business communications. One notable example of an early answering machine is Willy Müller’s "Hörzufernsprecher." Müller created the device in 1935. This device could record messages on 35mm film using magnetic technology. It was a groundbreaking invention, but the machine didn't become widely available due to the technological limitations of the time and the disruption caused by World War II. It was only manufactured and available in Germany.
The "Electronic Secretary"
The first widely recognized commercial answering machine came into existence in the 1950s. Dr. Kazuo Hashimoto, a Japanese-American engineer, invented it in 1954. Hashimoto developed the "Electronic Secretary" device while working at Bell Labs. This machine used magnetic recording tape to store and playback voice messages. The device was hefty and required manual operation, but it marked a significant step forward in developing answering machines.
The Electronic Secretary was principally marketed for businesses and professionals. Still, it paved the way for more compact and user-friendly answering machines that became popular in homes in the 1960s and 1970s. The answering machines of the 1960s and 1970s used cassette tapes and microcassettes to record and play back messages. Some of the more revolutionary features were the tape counter, remote message retrieval system, and adjustable recording time.
Families Recorded Together
Recording the outgoing message on the answering machine became a creative outlet for people in the 1980s. The more outrageous, the better. Celebrities advertised recording the outgoing message for consumers, and companies capitalized on selling innovative tapes to use in the answering machine.
Dangers
The danger of physical answering machines was the unencrypted recording that could be played on any tape deck. Anyone in the house that pushed the button had access to any message. Legally, answering machine tapes were not considered wiretapping and could be used against a person without a specific warrant to record phone conversations.
1980s State of the Art Answering Machine
Digital Machines End an Era
The technology-hungry consumer of the 1980s and 1990s increased the answering machine's popularity as technology improved and prices dropped. Digital answering machines replaced analog ones, and digital answering machines offered better sound quality and more features. The smartphone and digital communication of the 2000s effectively ended the popularity of the traditional answering machine. Landlines have been replaced with cellphones, yet voicemail technology began with early innovations and the need never to miss an important message.
