It really annoys me having to phone a number to retrieve my voicemail
messages. And of course with most billing plans this is not free.

I would much prefer a phone that actually has an answerphone feature
on the phone itself. If I don't answer after a certain number of
rings, then it answers for me and stores any message on the phone
itself.

This would be cheaper and more convenient than voicemail that is
stored by the network company. The only disadvantage would be that it
wouldn't work if the phone was switched off or out of range. But I
never switch my phone off or go out of range.

I know that in Japan all phones have this feature. Today I asked in
two UK high-street mobile phone shops. The staff took a while to
understand what I was saying, but eventually they all agreed me that
phones with this feature do not exist.

From looking on the internet, it seems that some Sanyo phones in the
US have it. They call it "call screening". But are there any phones in
the UK that have it? Or were the shop staff right?