According to Sprint, its new caller-ID notification service announced today can be personalized just like caller-ID on mobile phones themselves, including pictures, nicknames, custom fonts, and colors for different callers. Even before the phone rings, the company says, a caller-ID message pops up on the user's TV or PC screen.
Betanews contacted Sprint today, but since CTIA WIreless is this week, the reply channel for telecommunications companies has been slow. Our main question, after, "Is this an April Fool's gag?" was "How do you ignore calls?"
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but is avoidance not the main reason to have a fixed voice line? You set up a VoIP line for your home office so that those not close enough to you to deserve your mobile number can contact you within the parameters of the business day. Why would you want your TV to ping you when someone on your work line is calling? For that matter, even if it was being used as a home or family phone, is there any time you'd want a notification popping up on top of the TV show you're watching? I was always under the impression that pop-up messages were a nuisance, not a feature.
If there was an "ignore" button on the remote, it would be a pretty decent idea, or if it could route the call through the television, it would be even better. However, right now, it is just an alert that's telling you to pick up your VoIP phone and hit ignore.
A reply from Sprint is pending. Maybe they're hitting that ignore button too.
I don't believe avoidance is a reason to have a land line. Most people have them because the phone company won't let you have DSL without an active phone line.
I've seen the feature on BrightHouse Networks and it's not so annoying, but I suppose if you're watching a pay-per-view programme, it would be annoying, if you forgot to disable it.
If you're watching t.v. while you're supposed to be doing work and it pops up, turn off the t.v. and get back to work.
Bright House Networks (a subsidiary of Time Warner) has had this feature for years. It’s actually pretty handy. If your sitting down watching TV, you don’t have to get up and see who is calling you. Yes it makes you more lazy, but that’s what a lot of new technologies do, make our life easier. As far as I know, Bright House doesn’t charge extra for that feature, it’s included in the “Bundle” plan.
It shows up in the upper left hand corner of the screen when somone calls on the land line / voip.
I think it would be a handy option. And for the record, why do you assume VOIP is typically for business? All the cable companies offer it for home use, as well as Vonage and others.
I have caller-id on tv with Time Warner, and i think its a great feature. I have to agree with foxfyre. I think its ridiculous that you are criticizing a company for giving more features for customers.
Windows Media Center has had this forever. It's trivial,but cool. If you're watching a DVD or DVR's show and a call comes in you have the opiton to ignore or pasue the movie to answer. But... I dummped my landline so I don't see this anymore.
So, now that YOU have determined that any notification is indeed deemed (by YOU) a "nuisance".
And you have now determined that VOIP is properly used for business and not 'home/personal' use. Really? I guess I should hurry and change my local service.
And to think that some of the features normally associated with cell phone service might actually be extended to other formats. The nerve of them! And not only as necessary features, but as user configurable CHOICES!!! How DARE they!?!
Thanks Tim, but you may well determine that such forwarding or caller ID functions are indeed a nuisance. And as such, you are completely free to disable them.
Others, on the other hand may have the audacity to disagree, and as such they have the OPTION to configure it as they choose.
It always amazes me that even if a particular feature set fails to entrall your attention, that said services and the CHOICE of whether or not to use them is deemed a bad thing.
Here's a suggestion. If you don't like it or it doesn't suit your needs: DON'T USE IT!
Meanwhile OTHERS are afforded an additional CHOICE that just May suit Their particular needs. If it does, great. If not, they don't have to use it either.
Just as an aside, here's a situation where I can indeed see its use. Depending upon the caller, I often listen to music with the TV on and volume off, with only the closed captioning running if I need to see exactly what is being said. I screen ALL of my calls, usually with a machine and pick up only those I want to take at the moment, be they personal or business, depending upon the situation. Seeing an ID displayed on the TV momentarily is not more a disturbance than having a phone ring and me looking at a caller ID. Gee, on occasion it might come in handy. And it amazes me to hear anyone complaining about the potential of increased functionality of a feature such as caller ID.
The nerve of some companies, adding additional CHOICES to their feature sets!
We have already got a taste of what YOU and BN wants, in the form of the new lame format. What one might give for a real choice here!
I realize news is a bit slow. But hey, we can find a more controversial issue to try to drum up ire and angst. Can't you find some RIAA or Apple topic to bait the folks with?
Yup, to quote from the old Devo song; "Freedom from choice is what you want..."
I agree with foxfyre. Tim apparently just doesn't get it, and that's fine, but not as a "news reporter". I would have loved this feature 3 months ago, but I got tired of getting up from watching a movie/tv to walk over to my phone just to see it's some sales call. So I got a phone that verbally announces the caller id so I don't have to do that anymore. Great idea, just a few months too late for me.
And Tim, there are tv's that can mute themselves when a call comes in, and you can hit a button on the remote to take it. Apparently, you don't have one. Sucks to be you, apparently.
I find that a ringing phone is disruptive enough, whatever its purpose may be (i.e. home phone, business, cell). Seriously, if the phone company gave your phone the option to emit a foul smell every time someone called, would that "freedom of choice" be what you want?
and Yes, you CAN turn it off, but you pay for every option you don't use.
---I appreciate that you at least didn't quote "Mongoloid."
---And I have no input on this site's design. Sorry you find it so reprehensible.
"I find that a ringing phone is disruptive enough..."
Poor baby! But then, I guess you would whine if youhave a phone and it doesn't ring to let you know there is a call!
So tell us, who is the genius who subscribed to a phone you evidently don't want? And who is so swooft that they would whine instead of simply turning off the ringer on the phone that you find so abhorant? A capability that has existed ever since we had mechanical bell ringers on dial phones!
And it obviously doesn't matter who I quote, as you obviously don't have a clue as to what the song is about - as you react to a group's name without any idea as to the songs content.
But hey, that is exactly what you are doing with your whine about a phone service providing you with notification that you have a call!
And genius, you pay for the phone service whether you have the feature or not - again, WHO IS THE ONE WHO SIGNED UP FOR the phone service??? Got a gripe? Take it up with THAT idiot!
Oh wait....that would come dangerously close to taking responsibility for one's own actions, and heaven knows THAT is an even more ludicrous idea than visually displayed caller ID!
In either case, the problem ISN'T with the phone company!
Actually CallerID on tv is now also available for users of Vonage if they have a Tivo there is a 3rd party pluggin. Now, another great way to avoid unwanted calls say "Telemarketer or Collections" they have to identify themselves if you turn on the feature "Caller ID Identifier" it alerts the caller who refuses to user an ID to fix it or hang up as the call will not route. So half the time I get "1-800" caller or "Unknown name or number" I love ignoring those morons. But here is an important rule of thumb, if you don't know them let them goto to voicemail hell. With everyone out of work, let them suffer talking to the machine for ever.
With all due respect tim, i find this whole article to be a complete and utter waste. News articles should be based on facts. The FACT that you seem to find a phone to be annoying since it RINGS shows that you obviously must hate life in general. The fact that a meager phone ringing annoys you enough to post an article like this on a very public website shows that you obviously have no real news to report and must lead a very sheltered life. This article is proof enough to me that betanews is taking a turn for the worse with the hiring of Angela and now Tim.
There was the freebie that no one will forget, the heebie-jeebies courtesy of Scott Guthrie, and a teensy bit clearer picture of how this cloud thingie should work.
RSS
Have this option with Optimum.
It's a great feature and can be turned off for us.
Score: 0
|Directv has had that feature for awhile. Annoying!
Score: -1
|I don't believe avoidance is a reason to have a land line. Most people have them because the phone company won't let you have DSL without an active phone line.
I've seen the feature on BrightHouse Networks and it's not so annoying, but I suppose if you're watching a pay-per-view programme, it would be annoying, if you forgot to disable it.
If you're watching t.v. while you're supposed to be doing work and it pops up, turn off the t.v. and get back to work.
Score: 1
|Bright House Networks (a subsidiary of Time Warner) has had this feature for years. It’s actually pretty handy. If your sitting down watching TV, you don’t have to get up and see who is calling you. Yes it makes you more lazy, but that’s what a lot of new technologies do, make our life easier. As far as I know, Bright House doesn’t charge extra for that feature, it’s included in the “Bundle” plan.
It shows up in the upper left hand corner of the screen when somone calls on the land line / voip.
Score: 1
|Except Bright House Networks is a terrible company.
Score: -2
|Caller-ID is very spoofable.. you can't trust it..
Score: 0
|It's rather difficult to spoof your friends/family. Ignore anything else that rings under any other identified caller ID..
Score: 0
|I think it would be a handy option. And for the record, why do you assume VOIP is typically for business? All the cable companies offer it for home use, as well as Vonage and others.
Score: 1
|I have caller-id on tv with Time Warner, and i think its a great feature. I have to agree with foxfyre. I think its ridiculous that you are criticizing a company for giving more features for customers.
Score: 1
|My parents Dish Network receiver has this function.. it's actually kind of nice.
Score: 0
|Windows Media Center has had this forever. It's trivial,but cool. If you're watching a DVD or DVR's show and a call comes in you have the opiton to ignore or pasue the movie to answer. But... I dummped my landline so I don't see this anymore.
Score: 0
|So, now that YOU have determined that any notification is indeed deemed (by YOU) a "nuisance".
And you have now determined that VOIP is properly used for business and not 'home/personal' use. Really? I guess I should hurry and change my local service.
And to think that some of the features normally associated with cell phone service might actually be extended to other formats. The nerve of them! And not only as necessary features, but as user configurable CHOICES!!! How DARE they!?!
Thanks Tim, but you may well determine that such forwarding or caller ID functions are indeed a nuisance. And as such, you are completely free to disable them.
Others, on the other hand may have the audacity to disagree, and as such they have the OPTION to configure it as they choose.
It always amazes me that even if a particular feature set fails to entrall your attention, that said services and the CHOICE of whether or not to use them is deemed a bad thing.
Here's a suggestion. If you don't like it or it doesn't suit your needs: DON'T USE IT!
Meanwhile OTHERS are afforded an additional CHOICE that just May suit Their particular needs. If it does, great. If not, they don't have to use it either.
Just as an aside, here's a situation where I can indeed see its use. Depending upon the caller, I often listen to music with the TV on and volume off, with only the closed captioning running if I need to see exactly what is being said. I screen ALL of my calls, usually with a machine and pick up only those I want to take at the moment, be they personal or business, depending upon the situation. Seeing an ID displayed on the TV momentarily is not more a disturbance than having a phone ring and me looking at a caller ID. Gee, on occasion it might come in handy. And it amazes me to hear anyone complaining about the potential of increased functionality of a feature such as caller ID.
The nerve of some companies, adding additional CHOICES to their feature sets!
We have already got a taste of what YOU and BN wants, in the form of the new lame format. What one might give for a real choice here!
I realize news is a bit slow. But hey, we can find a more controversial issue to try to drum up ire and angst. Can't you find some RIAA or Apple topic to bait the folks with?
Yup, to quote from the old Devo song; "Freedom from choice is what you want..."
LOL!
Score: 2
|I agree with foxfyre. Tim apparently just doesn't get it, and that's fine, but not as a "news reporter". I would have loved this feature 3 months ago, but I got tired of getting up from watching a movie/tv to walk over to my phone just to see it's some sales call. So I got a phone that verbally announces the caller id so I don't have to do that anymore. Great idea, just a few months too late for me.
And Tim, there are tv's that can mute themselves when a call comes in, and you can hit a button on the remote to take it. Apparently, you don't have one. Sucks to be you, apparently.
Score: 1
|I find that a ringing phone is disruptive enough, whatever its purpose may be (i.e. home phone, business, cell). Seriously, if the phone company gave your phone the option to emit a foul smell every time someone called, would that "freedom of choice" be what you want?
and Yes, you CAN turn it off, but you pay for every option you don't use.
---I appreciate that you at least didn't quote "Mongoloid."
---And I have no input on this site's design. Sorry you find it so reprehensible.
Score: -2
|"I find that a ringing phone is disruptive enough..."
Poor baby! But then, I guess you would whine if youhave a phone and it doesn't ring to let you know there is a call!
So tell us, who is the genius who subscribed to a phone you evidently don't want? And who is so swooft that they would whine instead of simply turning off the ringer on the phone that you find so abhorant? A capability that has existed ever since we had mechanical bell ringers on dial phones!
And it obviously doesn't matter who I quote, as you obviously don't have a clue as to what the song is about - as you react to a group's name without any idea as to the songs content.
But hey, that is exactly what you are doing with your whine about a phone service providing you with notification that you have a call!
And genius, you pay for the phone service whether you have the feature or not - again, WHO IS THE ONE WHO SIGNED UP FOR the phone service??? Got a gripe? Take it up with THAT idiot!
Oh wait....that would come dangerously close to taking responsibility for one's own actions, and heaven knows THAT is an even more ludicrous idea than visually displayed caller ID!
In either case, the problem ISN'T with the phone company!
LOL! Life sure is hard...
Score: 1
|Actually CallerID on tv is now also available for users of Vonage if they have a Tivo there is a 3rd party pluggin. Now, another great way to avoid unwanted calls say "Telemarketer or Collections" they have to identify themselves if you turn on the feature "Caller ID Identifier" it alerts the caller who refuses to user an ID to fix it or hang up as the call will not route. So half the time I get "1-800" caller or "Unknown name or number" I love ignoring those morons. But here is an important rule of thumb, if you don't know them let them goto to voicemail hell. With everyone out of work, let them suffer talking to the machine for ever.
Score: 0
|With all due respect tim, i find this whole article to be a complete and utter waste. News articles should be based on facts. The FACT that you seem to find a phone to be annoying since it RINGS shows that you obviously must hate life in general. The fact that a meager phone ringing annoys you enough to post an article like this on a very public website shows that you obviously have no real news to report and must lead a very sheltered life. This article is proof enough to me that betanews is taking a turn for the worse with the hiring of Angela and now Tim.
Score: 0
|