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Visual Voicemail, Application Center, Coming in BlackBerry OS Patch?

Categories: AT&T, BlackBerry, Rumors
By: , IntoMobile
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 at 2:25 PM

Well, here’s a nice little upgrade that AT&T subscribers can look forward to – word has it that an upcoming BlackBerry Bold patch, OS 4.6.0.219, has a placeholder for a visual voicemail app. The Verizon BlackBerry Storm has something similar, but I think this is the first time we’ve seen it elsewhere. It would be really nice if this is an upgrade we’ll be able to see across other carriers as well – third parties like PhoneTag have been filling the gap for awhile, but it’s high time we get something that’s fully integrated both into the OS as well as with service providers.

Beyond that, we’re hearing about the first leads of the Application Center, where carriers will be able to show off all the software they want provide customers; these are likely to include quick links to stuff that’s already available, like Facebook and Google Talk, but will also be the outlet for paid applications such as navigation software. The downside is that from what we’ve seen, the Application Center will simply be providing web links rather than integrated downloading options – not very graceful or smooth at all. If that wasn’t enough of a downer, it was only the Application Center modules that were included in 4.6.0.219 and not the service books, meaning we won’t be seeing the feature until they’re included. The third-party-powered Application Storefront will be hitting ‘Berrys in March, which is closer than you think…

[via BGR]

About The Author

Simon Sage

Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.