Visual Voicemail is a service that allows you to listen to voicemails on your device without having to dial your voicemail number. Voicemail downloads automatically and you access them via an interface on the device (see left). Up until today the iPhone was the only device that supported the feature on the AT&T network. The Blackberry Storm and Tour on Verizon also support this feature. If you want this feature but do not have a supported carrier/device, check out YouMail.
So is it possible that we (on AT&T) could’ve had visual voicemail before today on the bold?
Now that I have activated VVM on my Blackberry, I have discovered that my iPhone’s VVM also works (with a Blackberry sim). Coincidental? Not according to some research I did. The OMTP (Open Mobile Terminal Platform) proposed a standard which is detailed in the PDF Link that allows for universal to access a Voicemail Server. So any phone that supports the standard for VVM (iPhone and Blackberry Bold) will be able to access the server.
I remember that the files for VVM were available for quite some time for the Bold. So I believe it may have been possible to use this before, if the feature code from the iPhone’s VVM was on your account. Either way it is going to be nice to have both phones seamlessly use voicemail. Hopefully some more manufactures license the technology and integrate it into their mobile devices.
The update for the Blackberry Bold (OS .297) can be found under the Wireless OTA on your Bold. Go to Options>>Advance Options>> Wireless Upgrade. You can also download it from here. Be sure to add the feature under your account online at MyWireless or call At&T 1-800-331-0500.
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