There still are people who prefer not to store voicemail on "someone else's" computer. And now that answering systems are digital, adding those features to a phone is relatively cheap and lets the manufacturer sell another feature. It's also probably cheaper to manufacture, ship, and advertise one model with a feature that some people don't use than to manufacture one model with answering and a model without.

I noticed the same thing!! I was considering a new phone of the type you describe and it kind of bothered me to have to pay for an answering machine I'm never going to use. My old ones don't have an answering machine - but I couldn't find any new ones that don't. I ended up keeping what I have for now. I got sick of the malfunctioning answer machines of years past and switched to the voicemail. Maybe the new ones are better - and you can save that extra fee on your phone bill.

I love having vmx at the office, but much prefer the digital answering machine at home. Having to dial in to listen to your messags is a big pain, IMHO.

We have one of those expandable systems you mention - an AT&T with one central phone/answering machine and 3 separate remote handhelds that sit in a stand which plugs into the wall for the electrical - but you don't need a phone jack, so you can put them anywhere that you have wall plug. Ours are speaker phones and also have a place for plugging in a headset. I work remotely a lot these days, so I use the headset for all of my conference calls.

Again, for those who don't mind having to manage a vmx box where you have to dial in, listen, delete, and learn all the commands for saving or replaying or FF messages, then that's fine. For me, I still prefer the integrated answering machine for home use because it saves steps.

L

Speaking from experience, when I lived in NC we were hit by Hurricane Fran and lost power for a few days. If I had an answering machine I would not been able to check my messages. Luckily because VM was on a server some where, I was still able to check my messages.

I can say when I began looking for a cordless unit w/o an answering machine it was difficult. Then I started going to the websites of the brands I liked. I performed searches based on what I wanted in a phone and spoke with a CS rep to ensure I got the best device.

I vote for VM.

I have noticed the same thing. My question is, if you buy a new cordless system with an integrated answering machine and you already have voicemail, do you get to choose which one you want to use - or does one of the systems take over by default? I'd rather not be stuck without a choice in the matter.