Video telephony device having functionality to mute incoming messages that are being recorded

1. A method of responding to an incoming call, comprising:

receiving the incoming call from a caller, the incoming call including caller ID information having image data associated with the caller included therein;

displaying the image data on a video telephony device display while audibly announcing receipt of the incoming call;

establishing a communication session with the caller by presenting a pre-recorded announcement to the caller;

in response to the pre-recorded announcement, receiving and recording a message from the caller; and

rendering the message while it is being recorded only if a user-selectable mute setting option has not been activated.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the mute setting option is activatable by the user on a caller by caller basis and further comprising determining if the caller is included in a directory of callers and, if so, determining if the mute setting option is activated for the caller.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the mute setting option is activatable by the user for all incoming calls regardless of caller identity.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the mute setting option is activatable by the user for selected times of day.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein, if the mute setting option is activated, further comprising presenting an option to deactivate the mute setting option while the message is being recorded.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the caller ID information is received as early media.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the early media is received in accordance with a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

8. A video telephony device, comprising:

an external communications interface for communicating information over an external communications network;

a display for presenting image data received over the external communications network;

a speaker for rendering audio information received over the external communications network;

a telephone answering device for responding to an incoming call by presenting a pre-recorded announcement to a caller and recording a message from the caller;

a user interface, the user interface including a menu of user-selectable settings, the user-selectable settings including a mute option to prevent the speaker from rendering the message from the caller while it is being recorded by the telephone answering device; and

a database configured to store the user-selectable settings chosen by a user; and

a processor operatively associated with the external communications interface, the display, the speaker, the telephone answering device, the user interface and the database.

9. The video telephony device of claim 8 further comprising a caller ID unit for receiving caller ID information, the caller ID information including image data associated with the caller for presentation on the display before a call session is established.

10. The video telephony device of claim 9 wherein the mute option prevents the speaker from rendering the message only if the caller ID image information is available.

11. The video telephony device of claim 9 further comprising a second database configured to store phone directory of contacts, wherein the mute option is activatable by a user on a caller by caller basis for those callers included in the second directory.

12. The video telephony device of claim 8 wherein the mute option is activatable by the user for selected times of day.

13. The video telephony device of claim 8 wherein the user-selectable settings further include a second option to deactivate the mute option while the message is being recorded.

14. The video telephony device of claim 9 wherein the caller ID unit is configured to receive the caller ID information as early media.

15. The video telephony device of claim 14 wherein the early media is received in accordance with a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

16. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructions which, when executed by a processor, performs a method comprising:

presenting a menu of user-selectable settings associated with operating features of a video telephony device, the user-selectable settings including a mute option to prevent a speaker associated with the video telephony device from rendering the message from the caller while it is being recorded by a telephone answering device if caller ID image information is available for rendering on a display; and

receiving user input activating the mute option.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16 further comprising receiving user input activating the mute option for all but selected individuals included in a phone directory associated with the video telephony device.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 16 further comprising receiving user input activating the mute option for selected times of day.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 16 further comprising:

receiving an incoming call that includes caller ID image information;

displaying the caller ID image information;

muting the message from the caller while it is being recorded;

receiving user input deactivating the mute option;

rendering a remaining portion of the message from the caller while it is being recorded.