The same guys who have recently launched Skylook, the cool Outlook-based Skype recorder, have given me the honour of uncovering first their latest free audio recording and messaging tool that is being released today: WaxMail.
With WaxMail you can start replying to your Outlook emails via your own voice. At no additional cost.
WaxMail adds a super-simple mini-toolbar to your Windows Outlook which enables you to record, with a one-click operation, a voice-based reply to any email.
The recorded message is immediately embedded in your reply as an .MP3 file and sent out along with it with maximum simplicity.
As an example and intro to this new cool tool, here is the WaxMail voice mail attachment I received this morning from Jeremy Hague in Australia.
I have in fact just finished testing WaxMail and I am indeed positively impressed again.
Like for Skylook, Jeremy and Paul have pulled out another useful white rabbit from their magic hat. Once again, they have provided a much in-demand tool for any busy communicator which nonetheless is not the first at offering this type of feature, it strikes as being the first to do it in an efficient and truly seamless way.
WaxMail sits quietly with its mini-toolbar inside your Outlook standard interface, making itself available at a click only when you need it. No extra software to fire up. When you are in a hurry or when you think that spoken words would be better than written ones, WaxMail is there ready to make it happen.
As soon as you have opened an email you want to reply to, a small button labelled Add WaxMail appears inside the reply Email window toolbar area. When you click on it, a cool voice recorder window appears on your screen.
On top of it, a clearly visible red Record button allows you to initiate the recording when you want, while the area immediately below displays a pause button and a visual waveform of your voice being recorded as soon as you start speaking.
The Recorder window is truly well-designed making the service work as a small digital easy-to-use appliance. And since such great usability and looks are achieved mainly by providing a clean, large and visible interface, a touch of design class is given by the transparency of the whole Recorder window itself, which allows you to keep in view whatever stands behind it.
Clicking again on the Record button area allows you to easily Stop the recording which is immediately saved as an .MP3 file.
At this point you can already send out your email as WaxMail has transparently attached the audio .MP3 recording to your reply.
As options you can easily delete or "name" the .MP3 audio recording file while the recorder is open in front of you. Multiple voice messages can also be added to the same email message, and a useful Pause button allows you to pause and restart your voice message while recording.
Your recording can be listened back to as soon as you click the stop button of the WaxMail recorder. You will in fact see an .mp3 audio file automatically attached to your email reply, which can be immediately double-clicked for instant playback.
WaxMail has its key strengths in its simplicity and immediacy of use. Like for Skylook, there isn't much to think. The technology blends into the background and getting your task done is managed by two very simple buttons always at your disposal.
This is how any tool wanting to get large and rapid adoption should work today.
Please keep in mind that you are downloading the very first release just out from the press and that a few, small idiosyncrasies or errors are part of the price you'll pay to try it before everyone else. By tomorrow, all small bugs should also be cleared.
System Requirements
Windows PC
WaxMail works in Windows 2000/XP and it is compatible with Microsoft Outlook XP/2002/2003.
WaxMail is completely free to download, install and use. The free version puts a WaxMail hyperlink at the end of any WaxMail that you send.
Find out more about WaxMail and how to use it right here.
Install and try it now.
