Frequently
Asked Questions
What is the
service?
Thinphone offers email to telephone
(and fax) services via a simple email interface. TOP
How do I use
the service?
After you sign
up and fund your account, simply use your normal email system!
You simply address (or forward) an email to phonenumber@thinphone.com
and substitute the 10 digit phone number for "phonenumber"
in the address. When you send the mail, the phone rings and a
life-like robot voice announces your name and reads your message
to whoever answers the phone. To use email to fax, send to faxnumber@thinfax.com
and substitute the 10 digit fax number for "faxnumber"
in the address. The message will print on the fax machine. TOP
How do
I know if my message got through?
You receive a confirmation for
each message you send with its status. If a Thinphone recipient
chooses, they can press "2" and reply (and you'll receive
a link to a WAV file in your email). TOP
How do
I contact multiple people?
Since each Thinphone and Thinfax
address is just an email address, you can use contact lists in
your email program to send a message to many people at once,
for example to cancel or reschedule an event. TOP
Can I send
file attachments?
You can attach DOC, 8KBS WAV
files and MP3 files to a telephone message, which replaces the
email text. You can attach most kinds of documents and pictures
in use today and print them to a fax machine as well; the body
of the email acts as the cover page. TOP
How much
does it cost?
Each Thinphone call, and each
Thinfax page, costs $.25 and is deducted from your account. We
use a rechargeable "online phone card" system. When
it goes low, you will get reminder messages, and when there is
no money left, your messages will bounce. From the web, you can
use a credit card to make deposits into your account anytime.
You may also send a check to us, marked with your email address,
to Thinmail, PO Box 85, Wayland MA 01778, and alert thinmail@gmail.com
that you are mailing a check. TOP
Is there
a monthly charge?
No, you only pay for what you
use. The Thinmail service includes email forwarding, and involves
a monthly fee. TOP
Will
I be billed if the message does not get through?
You are billed if the call goes
through. We try to tell you the length of the call, and whether
the person who received it hit "1" or we assume it
was an answering machine. If it was a fax, we tell you the number
of pages. You can log into your account and see your recent activity.
TOP
Can I use
my other email address?
Some people have multiple email
addresses, at home, work, on a wireless or web account. To use
Thinphone, you must sign up each address separately. TOP
Aren't there
laws against AI voices?
There is no law against sending
personal messages to telephones or to fax machines. There are
national, state and local laws that prohibit sending certain
kinds of unsolicited commercial messages for marketing
or sales purposes. Both "demon dialers" and "junk
fax" of commercial sales messages became a big problem (like
email spam) and were made illegal. It is your responsibility
to know and abide by all appropriate laws and regulations. You
should not use Thinphone at all as a tool for telemarketing or
solicitation. However, if you have an existing commercial
relationship, for example, like doctors or hair-cutters or video
store or library, using these tools for reminders and alerts
is likely to be accepted by customers. TOP
Will the
recipients see this as rude or impersonal?
When used properly, Thinphone
is a powerful tool that both you as the sender and the recipients
will greatly appreciate. When using Thinphone, please remember
that the recipients' phones will ring in about a minute from
sending the email. Therefore, senders should be aware of the
local time of the receiving phone number so that home phones
are not being called in the middle of the night. It is your responsibility
to make sure you are using this tool in a non-intrusive manner.
TOP
What if
I don't like the service?
You can cancel at any time by
writing to "cancel@thinmail.com". We will send you
a refund check for your balance less any promotional amounts
and a $3 handling fee. TOP
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