An answering machine, answerphone, or message machine, also known as telephone messaging machine (or TAM) in the UK and some Commonwealth countries, ansaphone or ansafone (from a trade name), or telephone answering device (TAD), is used for answering telephone calls and recording callers´ messages.
When a telephone rings a set number of times predetermined by the call´s recipient the answering machine will activate and play either a generic announcement or a customized greeting created by the recipient. Unlike voicemail, an answering machine is placed at the user´s premises alongside—or incorporated within—the user´s landline telephone, and unlike operator messaging, the caller does not talk to a human. As landlines become less important due to the shift to cell phone technology, and as unified communications evolve, the installed base of TADs is shrinking.[citation needed]
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