For the last several months I’ve been using Jott, a note-taking service that works over any telephone. I started using it in beta (it’s now in public beta) and have watched the services grow and make it more useful. I don’t use it a lot but, on the occasions when I do, I find it invaluable. If I spent more time in the car or in the mall, I’d likely be a much heavier user. Imagine being able to leave a voice message via your phone that could:

• be sent back to the phone as a text message;
• be sent back as a text reminder or email at a later date;
• be sent to your inbox as an email message to deal with when you get to work;
• Be sent to a group;
• Be blogged to your favorite blogging site.

Jott allows you to do that, and more — and it’s free (at least for the time being). I find it most useful when driving. While I rarely talk on the phone while moving, on occasion I find that I need to make a note of something that my 63-year-old brain is otherwise going to lose long before I can get to a place where it’s safe to write it down. Using my Bluetooth headset, I push the button and voice dial by saying “Jott!” At the prompt I say “me,” or “Michele,” or “Family” and then at the beep — speaking clearly — I leave a message of up to fifteen seconds. A push of the button hangs up the phone, and I’m back to driving. The note will go to whomever I sent it, and I can access it later by phone, or from my Jott web page, to insure that it is understandable. I can even listen to it if I wish.

Sending a reminder works the same way. I say “Jott,” but at the prompt I say “Reminder” instead of where I want it to go. Then there are prompts for date and time, and for the message. Fifteen minutes ahead of the appropriate time, I receive an email or text message to jog my memory about the time and subject of the meeting, or whatever I have to do. I can leave myself lists, to-dos, etc. and know that they’ll be brought to my attention reliably.

Jott isn’t perfect. The computer translation to text isn’t 100%, especially if I fail to speak clearly or if there’s background noise. While humans do check the translations, they aren’t perfect either. Having said that, I have yet to get a Jott that I couldn’t figure out, and I can always spell questionable words or names if necessary. I suspect, however, that the further one departs from a “standard” American English accent, the more it would be a problem. I haven’t bothered to try French. Perfect or not, it can save you time, inconvenience, and traffic crashes. Give Jott a look.

[tags]jott, text,reminders, note taking, phone notes[/tags]