AT&T yanks BlackBerry Bold visual voicemail software update
Update: AT&T just sent us their official word on the matter -- and they also told us it has nothing to do with MMS or 850. Check it out after the break.
Posts with tag VisualVoicemail

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As expected, Google and LG have joined Apple, AT&T, and Verizon in settling their visual voicemail patent lawsuits with Klausner Technologies. The LG agreement is the more straightforward of the two, since it covers LG devices like the Versa directly, but things get more complicated with Google since it doesn't actually make its own phones -- Klausner wouldn't say if the agreement shielded Android licensees from patent claims. We're hoping Google's attorneys got it all sorted out, but we'll see who else is next on Klausner's naughty list.
We figured back in August that Verizon (and LG) would eventually be forced to pay up in order to keep visual voicemail on its handsets, and sure enough, that's exactly what has gone down with the former company. Verizon and Klausner Technologies have quickly settled outstanding patent litigation by way of Verizon entering into a patent license agreement for using visual voicemail. To date, Verizon is the 15th company to ink such an agreement, ensuring that the suits at Klausner can remain firmly parked in Grand Cayman, Aruba, Maui or any other blissful location they please for the remainder of their Earthly lives. As for LG? We'd say the outcome is all but imminent at this point.
So patent holding firm Klausner Technologies figures it has this whole litigation thing down to a T at this point, having already sued a who's-who of companies having anything to do with visual voicemail in the past and ultimately coming away with a whole bunch of lucrative license agreements for its efforts (eleven, to be exact). Needless to say, any new company that tries to break into the game at this point is probably going to get treated with the same warm, fuzzy love, and Verizon and LG are experiencing that firsthand. Klausner has announced that it has filed suit against both companies in Texas federal court, presumably in response to Big Red's recent launch of the refreshed Voyager featuring visual voicemail software on board. Given the track record Klausner has, guys, you might just want to cut to the chase here and pay up.
Just how badly do you want the iPhone 3G, Singapore? Badly enough to do without two of its headline features? SingTel kicks off sales today (local time) along with a whole host of other countries, but neither visual voicemail nor the iTunes WiFi Store will make the cut. In the case of iTunes, the reason is kinda obvious: Singapore has no iTunes Store at all, and it never has. The explanation behind the mysterious absence of visual voicemail is less clear, other than carrier laziness in getting the feature implemented on its back end. The silver lining here seems to be pricing, though -- subscribers will be able to pick up the phone for diddly squat, assuming they sign up for a S$205 monthly package (about $145).
There aren't exactly all that many details left to announce, but Verizon has just gotten official with its late to the party Visual Voicemail service which, for the time being at least, is only available on the LG Voyager. As we had heard previously, the service will run you an extra $2.99 per month on top of your usual bill, and you'll be able to store up to 40 messages for 40 days, with an option to create up to 10 greetings and 20 distribution lists. Unfortunately, Verizon didn't take the opportunity to announce any firm plans for a roll-out to any of the other phones supposedly in line to get the service, with it only going so far as to say that additional devices will be getting it in the "coming months."
Seems like things are coming along nicely for the launch of Verizon's downloadable visual voicemail service, with some preliminary information briefly hitting VZW's interwebs before seemingly being pulled. As we'd previously heard, a retooled LG Voyager -- creatively named Voyager Refresh -- will be one of the first devices to get access to the service, while current Voyager owners will be able to download the app required to get hooked up. 










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