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Comment by spydertennis | Hacker News Reader

Isn't this just voicemail? There are even services that let you leave a voicemail directly without actually calling the person. How is this different/better than that?

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The thing is no one seems to like voicemail, including us. You're trying to reach someone, and end up having to leave a voicemail. The listener usually just listens to see if she needs to call you back or not. It's all out of necessity.

VoiceGem is for times you have a story to tell, but you don't need the other person on the line right that moment. You can send or reply to one whenever you want. I have received many great jokes or stories from folks in my VoiceGem inbox over the last couple days. That hasn't happened with voicemail before.

Voicemail is owned and run by phone companies, and thus harder to extend and digitize. It was only recently that visual voicemail became possible, and only because Apple demanded it. I can see the benefits of pulling this out of their grasp, especially in the case that was mentioned (intercontinental communication).

That said, isn't there already a very popular app that does this?

Yes, there are already apps that let you send shorter voice messages, but you have to have your friends install it first. VoiceGem lets you send as long a message as you want to anyone. They can also listen and reply without signing up, or installing anything.

Interesting. Could Apple replace voicemail with their own system? Eventually they might even be able to merge the phone app into the messages app. Phone calls over wifi, new voicemail etc.

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