April 1998

Lingo Voice Mail System

Active Voice Corporation
2901 Third Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121
Ph: 206-441-4700; Fx: 206-441-4784
Web site: www.activevoice.com

Price: $2,000–3,000

RATINGS (0-5)
Installation: 4
Documentation: 3
Features: 5
Overall: B+

If you plan to add voice mail to a small office/home office (SOHO), or even a larger office, you’ll want to check out Lingo, especially if you admire solid, practical products.

Lingo doesn’t demand a lot of attention. It’s the sort of product you configure once, and then leave alone, aside from the occasional change in a setting or two. Maintenance is hardly an issue, since Lingo is based on an AMD processor, and its modular construction is sturdy and easy to repair. And Lingo’s initial setup is uncommonly easy — the dealer does most of it on-site for you.

Three versions of Lingo are available: two ports with two hours of memory, two ports with four hours of memory, and four ports with four hours of memory. We tested the four-port, four-hour version, which can accommodate up to 100 mailboxes. (The two-port version can accommodate up to 50).

Lingo presents three primary setup options. You can use Lingo as your company’s chief answerer (auto-attendant); as a depository for transferred voice mails; or as an overflow clerk (activated whenever the operator is busy).

INSTALLATION
Before the dealer leaves, he or she gives the system administrator a password so nobody else can modify settings. The system reserves extension 100 for the operator. On our test system, we set up extensions 101 through 200. All we had to do was enter the beginning and ending ranges, and the system set up the extensions automatically. (Easier than configuring each mailbox individually, which is what some systems make you do.)

Setting up our first individual mailbox was quite simple. And setting up and deleting additional mailboxes was also simple. If the mailboxes are in successive order, they can be done in one step.

Eventually, we had to designate a phone system. We were asked to select from a list of 109 systems, from 22 manufacturers. We chose the generic option. Thereafter, installation continued smoothly — until it came time to program the date.

Lingo wouldn’t let us enter the appropriate "January" code. As we suspected, it was waiting for a 0, 1, or 2 following the initial "1" for January — the system thought we were trying to say that the current month was October, November, or December. We later found out that Active Voice is aware of the bug, and a spokesman said Active Voice engineers had already corrected the problem (which existed only when setting up Lingo by telephone, not when using the enclosed text editor interface to set up the unit via PC or modem). Users who had the pre-correction version were mailed a software fix.

The remainder of the configuration went fine, but we’d suggest that the user’s guide, which includes a handy cheat sheet, should also include a reminder that the user should press "9" before accessing his or her mailbox. We didn’t realize this at first. Of course, many users might assume the procedure, but then again, some might not. The procedure is mentioned in the product’s "read me first" document, but end users won’t ever see this document. Documenting the procedure in the guidebook would prevent headaches.

DOCUMENTATION
What’s nifty about Lingo’s documentation is that it includes three manuals written for three audiences. There’s a technician’s manual, which describes how to plan, install, and configure the system, as well as how to train the system administrator, how to conduct remote maintenance, and how to troubleshoot. Then there’s the system manager’s manual, which also teaches how to plan, install, and set up the system. It also covers the training of end users and routine maintenance. Finally, there’s the end user’s pamphlet, which explains how to manage a mailbox, greetings, and individual messages, and which includes the pullout quick reference page. Active Voice includes dozens of the end user’s guides to distribute in your company.

FEATURES
Lingo has all the basic features. For example, the user directory option lets you manipulate the keypad to locate mailboxes by name. To leave Babe Ruth a message, you would enter "R-U- T," that is, 788. And to leave messages for Ripkin or Rose, you would enter 747 or 763, respectively.

An interesting feature is Lingo’s battery backup. Eight AA batteries (included) protect the system’s data-base, but not actual messages, which are stored in 16 MB of SIMMs. (Note: Lingo users might want to invest in an uninterruptable power supply.)

Here, too, on the subject of power, we found an important fact that was mentioned in the technical manuals, but not where it counts: Don’t unplug the system while changing the batteries, or you’ll lose the database. It wouldn’t be difficult to put a bright red sticker next to the battery compartment as a warning. (An Active Voice spokesman has told us the company is already acting on this suggestion. New Lingo units will include the warning sticker.)

Other Lingo features include:
A night call feature that automatically transfers calls to voice mail if a human normally answers.

• A holiday/emergency greeting option for special announcements to callers.
• Automatic fax routing.
• Optional daily reboot.
• No power switch. (The system is always "on.")
• Separate mailbox for the "operator" and for the system administrator.
• Database backup to a support PC.
• Multiple alarms when the batteries get low and when the system is at 97 percent capacity.
• Year 2000 compliance.

A final note is that Lingo is inexpensive. Retailing between $2,000 and $3,000, Lingo is often sold as part of a larger telephone package. And it is, according to Active Voice, often a company’s first voice mail system. We feel Active Voice has done a good job designing for this market.

OPERATIONAL TESTING
There wasn’t much to do to test Lingo. We installed 100 mailboxes, customized several of them, and started leaving ourselves messages. We forwarded, deleted, erased, saved, and even grouped them, all by following the cheat-sheet instructions. This system works as advertised: it’s simple and effective. Thus, Lingo should appeal to users who are content to skip a lot of bells and whistles, users who abhor complexity, users who, above all, just want their messages.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Despite Lingo’s no-nonsense attitude, we think the engineers could have paid more attention to making the product more user-friendly. It’s not exactly what you’d call intuitive, and all three of the manuals have murky passages that should be clarified.

CONCLUSION
Every product category should have a Lingo; a simple, no-nonsense product that does what it’s supposed to do, without a lot of frills and confusing options. (If only we could find a Lingo-type VCR.) Lingo is so simple that even non-technical people can learn to become its system manager. The product is well designed for its target audience, and can be easily hung on a wall or placed in a remote corner.