Patent ID: 7627095

Claim:
A telephone, comprising: a microprocessor; a transceiver coupled to the microprocessor; a voice recognition unit coupled to the microprocessor, the unit being configured to determine when a user is speaking proximate the unit and to generate a match signal when the user is speaking; when the match signal is present when a call is received, the microprocessor being configured to generate a command signal to induce the transceiver to transmit a voice mailbox routing signal to a telephone switching center upon receipt of the match signal from the unit without announcing the call to the user; and when the match signal is not present when a call is received, the microprocessor being configured to announce the call to the user; wherein the voice recognition unit receives a voice signal generated by a microphone in response to words spoken by the user, the unit having a memory storing language keywords, the unit being configured to compare the received voice signal with the stored language keywords and to generate a match signal when at least one keyword in the memory is substantially similar to a portion of the voice signal.