Systems and methods for improved call handling

A user's user equipment (UE) comprising:

• a display to display a graphical user interface (GUI) comprising at least a plurality of buttons associated with a plurality of call-handling actions to a user, the plurality of buttons including at least one text-to-microphone (TTM) button;
• one or more input devices to receive inputs from the user;
• a transceiver to receive a call from a caller's UE;
• one or more processors in communication with at least the display, the transceiver, and the one or input devices;
• and
• memory, including at least a voice synthesizing module and a TTM module, the memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to:
• receive a call at the transceiver of the user's UE from the caller's UE;
• receive, at the processor of the user's UE, a selection of a text-to-microphone (TTM) button from an input of the one or more inputs of the user's UE;
• sending a contents of a text message from the processor of the user's UE to the voice synthesizing module of the user's UE;
• converting, with the voice synthesizing module, the contents of the text message into an audio file;
• and
• sending the audio file to a microphone of the user's UE with the TTM module of the user's UE to form a TTM message;
• wherein the TTM message causes a speaker on the caller's UE to play the audio file.

A method for creating a customizable graphical user interface (GUI) for call handling, the method comprising:

• receiving a selection of a first group of function buttons from a user at an input of a user's user equipment (UE);
• and
• displaying the first group of function buttons on the display in the GUI;
• wherein the first group of function buttons comprises at least one preconfigured TTM button that, when selected, causes the UE to send a preconfigured TTM message to a caller's UE.