Ah, Twitter, how did we communicate with our favorite corporations before you came about? Mr. Yuhnke has taken advantage of Palm’s relative openness over Twitter and posed the question to Palm: does the Pre come with visual voicemail? Palm’s response is of course pro-Pre, pointing out the wonders of Synergy, but in the end the answer is indeed no. Of course, it is entirely possible that somebody could write an app that will enable visual voicemail on the Pre, but don’t expect to see it on June 6th.
Thanks to kkye in our forums for the tip!
Comments
Doesn't look like they are answering the question, as always. Where exactly is the confirmation?
Derek you are killing it with the articles (in a good way) but I think you jumped the gun on this one.
I'm not a user of Twitter so I don't exactly understand the nature of this dialogue.
Is Kirk sending messages to Palm (not a specific person) ?
Unfortunately there are going to be a lot of disappointments on June 6. Stock will be extremely limited all across the board, Best Buy, Sprint, and Radio Shack, and the next bulk delivery will not occur until July. This means that if you are not in a good position in line before store opening, there's a good chance you will not get a unit.
If you are waiting in line June 6 you are already a sucker. you will find stock was sold at june 5 after hours release 'party' and the rest held for people on wait list. ;)
lol
Funny, cause I live in Los Angeles, and waited until Sunday. Radio Shack near my house had several left. No waiting in line on Saturday. Nice thing about Radio Shack? No mail in rebate. All instant. $199+tax out the door.
That would really suck if the Pre doesn't have VVM!
I know it has tons of other cool features, but for a "smart phone" like the Pre to lack a feature that's available even on dumb "feature phones" really doesn't speak well for the thoroughness of it's design.
Don't get me wrong... YES it has an amazing list of capabilities (synergy, multitasking, keyboard, etc), I won't deny that... but it's almost as if the designers at Palm focused so much on their "new" features that they completely ignored or forgot about other features that are now almost becoming standard in the smart phone market.
we're talking about VISUAL voicemail, not just voicemail. Of course the Pre has voicemail. A lot of people were hoping that the Pre would have visual voicemail like the iPhone or Instinct.
Palm doesn't do voicemail. Sprint does. Nobody said the Pre is incapable of visual voicemail, he said Synergy does not do visual voicemail. Synergy organizes all sorts of communications and resources that are based on established standards and open, documented systems. Sprint's voicemail system does not fit into either of those categories. If it did, one could write a VVM app for a Windows Mobile device. But until Sprint releases an API for their voicemail system you can blame Sprint, not Palm.
They absolutely answered the question. They said no. (e.g. "not that way.") But I already have visual voice mail on my Treo, and if/when I get a Pre I'll have it there, too. Check out Simulscribe:
http://simulscribe.com/
By uploading my contacts to their servers, I get visual voicemail, PLUS the ability to read a speech to text transcription of the voicemail. Not free, but not very expensive, either.
*Sigh* The Pre is no iPhone-killer, sadly. I was hoping for a prefect phone! There are lots of great features, but no visual voicemail, no video-out, no desktop software, no media card slot, no video camera (last I heard). I suppose we'll have to wait for Palm Pre 4G like AT&T users got the updated iPhone 3G
Sorry buddy. I don't know what world you are living in but there is no such thing is a perfect anything! The Pre is easily still the best smartphone out there even though it won't have this small convenience. It's not like you won't be able to easily access your voicemail normally! What desktop software what is need? It's a Web based operating system! Everything is done OTA! And I have never even heard of a device with a video-out port! You seriously telling me that 8GB of memory won't be enough for you?! You damn well that it will! Sure it would be nice have a video camerea, but this is purely a software issue that they can include in a firmware update! Quit being a whiny queer about simple insignificant shortcomings!
Daniel, I don't know if you are a long-time Palm or Treo with PalmOS user, but I sincerely doubt it. I have used Palm Desktop for ages and love having a non-web copy of my data - calendar, contacts - for when I am not in a place where I can be on the internet. The Pre does not even sync with Outlook - which many business users find essential on their Palm/Treo devices. As for video out - the iPhone has video out, which was part of the point of my original post. I also like to have removeable media so I can easily switch movies and various music, especially on-the-go and away from my computer. As for the video camera, why should we have to wait for any kind of update? My flipphone from 2004 has a video camera, for goodness sake.
The Pre will fully sync with Outlook if you are using a business server! If you are using Outlook on your home computer there is a application called Companion Link that will push your desktop Outlook information to the Pre, continuously and in two directions! Instead of a flash card that you would plug into your comp, it will come with a data cable that will turn it into a USB drive that will allow you to play video from the device and drag and drop files, so what is the difference? It just won't be infinitely expandable! 8GB is a huge amount of on-the-go storage! From what I have seen about the device the Pros vastly, vastly outweigh the Cons (if you wanna consider no video capture, and no VVM a Cons)! For example: It will be the first browser to support Flash!
No video is a HUGE con. And you didn't understand what I said about removable media -- I don't want to have to delete and copy over files at my computer. If I am not at my computer and want to switch to a different set of files, I can't do that if I don't have removable media. Companion Link looks interesting, but I would have to put it through the wringer to see if it's any good. I don't see that it's a compelling upgrade to go to a Pre from a Treo (especially not for $230, including the cost of the very basic verison of Companion Link). But, I will wait until the phone is out before I make a final judgment.
> *Sigh* The Pre is no iPhone-killer, sadly.
I really wish I knew why there is all this hatred for this phone. Childish jealousy? Without the iPhone, there'd be no Pre - Palm would have sat on their ass as usual, dumping out the next lousy Treo. Rubenstein and gang are ex-Apple, remember? So, you can thank Apple for that. Think Palm could have done it with their own talent? Honestly?
Do you really want Pre to kill iPhone? Think again - without competition, Palm would - again - sit on their ass and get all cocky. Sprint would raise fees for the privilege of using their blessed phone.
I'm an iPhone user, but no fanboy. I hope the Pre does really well. I'd consider switching once the contract is done and Pre is out for a while. Blind loyalty doesn't make any sense.
The Pre looks great. It totally copied iPhone in so many ways as a base design, but it did it in an innovative way and creatively addressed the shortcomings with new ideas. It'll kick Apple into improving their phone, and that will kick Palm into improving the next Pre. We all win.
I use the term only to mean to top it. I don't want to see the iPhone be condemned to eternal damnation or something like that. Actually, I'm talking about what you are - competition. I want something that is as nice as the iPhone, but with a different UI. I don't care for Windows Mobile or Mac -- I really like PalmOS and so I'm hoping this phone will be similar but a major overhaul, keeping what made it attractive in the first place, and adding to it to make it even better. It's not blind loyalty -- it's brand loyalty.
Understood!
I hope the Pre works out great, you guys certainly deserve a decent phone considering what you had to use before, LOL.
I love my iPhone, but there are just tons of things in the Pre software that I really like - the combined notifications, nicer calendar, Synergy, cards, etc. Even the fonts and the pastel colors have a softer edge. Nice.
I hope they open up multitasking - the OS is full multitasking, but they just don't allow it on 3rd party apps. I didn't think I'd need it on the phone, but you end up pressing the home button a little too much...
Why are people saying that there could be an app written to access VVM. If they do that, it won't be able to access Sprints VVM. If it was possible, it would have been done with Win. Mo along time ago. There might be one written for some of the other services, but then again we know how Sprint is with transferring your VM to other companies. Basically, if you want VVM, get the instink or iPhone. Otherwise, its a dead deal.
Applications written for the Pre have a lot more access to the phone's hardware and inner functions (similar to Android) than Window Mobile. That's why applications can exist where you can buy movie tickets and it's automatically placed on your calendar, and other such things. I doubt you could write something like that for Windows Mobile.
The reality of it all is, Palm will more than likely release an updated version in the future. So the question then becomes, do you want to wait for the new & improved version, or do you want it now? I currently have a blackberry & it doesn't offer vvm, so I don't know what the big deal is....
But, it never fails...the 1st versions of a lot of things never has all the bells & whistles. I mean, look at the iPhone....time & demand always dictates these advances.
We all just need to wait to see what the phone can really do when we get it in our own hands before we do any real judging. I can not put down the phone nor praise it just yet. Once I get it and use it then I will know and so will everybody else who gets it that it will be a great phone or not.
Sorry to be clueless, but what is visual voice mail? Ability to read an automated voice to text conversion of a voicemail?
No that's different. VVM is being able to see the voicemail you want to listen to without having to go through audio menus. I don't see it as a deal breaker. If it had it great but it's just a luxury.
Without calling in to check your voicemail, it basically lists out each of your voicemails and whom they are from. You can just click on it to play the voicemail. It's nice because if you have 5 voicemails but only want to hear the 4th one since its important then thats all you have to listen to. You don't have to call in and shuffle through the prompts to get to a specific voicemail.
Here is a screenshot of what the iPhone's visual voicemail looks like:
http://www.gadgetreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/visual-voicemail1...
Sorry but that's a disaster. I never considered that they would not have it. Personally, I can't go back to basic voicemail.
You are so full of shiit! You will be just fine with normal voicemail! Quit being an alarmist, Mr Anonymous!
Relax. People have individual taste. If they want to give up multi-tasking for VVM, then so be it.
What's to stop Palm, if demand is high enough, from issuing a software update that adds things like VVM or an onscreen keyboard? Is that sort of thing just not done, meaning they'd wait two years or whatever to release it with the Pre2? If they wanted to, I don't see why Palm couldn't have their own area in the app store for high-level OS enhancements like that, even if they charged a premium for them.
Is it just me that doesn't get any voice messages?! On the occasions i do not answer, the caller generally sends an email or an SMS.
I get about two a year, no jokes. I have an iPhone and of the two i have received since getting my iPhone3G last July, one involved me calling up the usual voicemail because i didn’t have Edge/3G coverage, and the other I used Visual Voicemail. Quite honestly, for one message a year, i can live without it!
(Voicemail to me – visual or not – remains a format that is unhelpful when it contains facts (like an address or time for an appointment). I far prefer it in email format that can be added to an agenda. Also, there seems to no way to "export" the audio file back to a computer, trapping it on the phone..)
I'm the same way, I hardly ever get voicemail anymore, but I would bet that anyone who uses their phone for business would find it a godsend, and nearly indispensible.
My mom is the only person that doesn't seem to know that I hate vmail. So I listen to messages from her, and that's it. Sometimes other old-timers, mostly relatives, think vmails are a good idea.
Ha, i forgot about VVM. Yet, pre doesn't have it as we have not heard about this feature in the last 6 months of waiting. It's definitely not there... oh well. I hate voicemail anyway...
With voicemail transcription services like Google Voice, Phonetag (formerly Simulscribe), CallWave and YouMail, I see the lack of VVM as no loss. I can't stand voicemail myself, and I don't get enough messages queued up for VVM to be an advantage over basic VM. If I didn't have the ability to read transcribed voice messages, I probably would've disabled my voicemail by now.
The real problem is that this phone is going to be released in a couple of weeks and there is no demo of it being used as a phone. The ones that have been delivered to the advocates or whatever aren't activated right? Are there any pictures in the wild of anyone making or recieiving a call? That's why we need review models so that these kinds of basic questions can be answered.
Sprint is more interested in how many people will line up outside of Best Buy on June 6 than to actually demo the phone, I guess.
What exactly are you worried about it not doing? I mean if I can punch seven numbers, hit 'dial' and then talk to someone, I'll consider the phone part of it a success. I've seen this kind of comment before, and I guess I just don't get it; a phone either makes calls or it doesn't, and as long as the network you're on has good coverage (Sprint does, in my experience) I don't see where there could be a problem.
I'm guessing his curiosity towards the phone features more likely are directed towards functionality. I am curious to see reviews on call clarity and loudness. One of the things that I found crappy about the Touch Diamond was that I could barely hear on the phone with the volume turned all the way up.
I'm pretty sure they just released it to reviewers two days ago! How can you really expect a demo that fast?! Or are you just another "anonymous" iPhone fanboy trying to discourage people from buying the phone?!
Hello. This is your new Palm Jesus phone you've been waiting for for 3 years. You have 4 new messages. Press "3" to go to the next message and "9" to go forward and "1" to delete.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Looks like the "Anonymous" iPhone homos couldn't wait to point out the one thing the iPhone will have that the Pre won't! Nevermind the countless things that the Pre WILL have that the iPhone won't, right fanboy?!!! Trust me you, we will see a VVM app soon after June 6th, either in the App catalog or through a OTA firmware update!
Hello. This is your iPhone that you've been using for two years. If you'd like to read this message, you still must close the application you are currently running first.
HAHAHA...(laughter interrupted by an incoming notification)...
I had high hopes for this phone, and still do. But the fact that it doesn't have this is a big point to me, thats why I went with the instinct long ago.
I dispise calling voicemail to get my messages. With the instinct, I just click a app, and I can delete it, read, fast forward, forward the message, pause, and find out all the information I need about the message instantly.
It is stupid not to have this. Screenshots have shown a "visual voicemail" icon on the pre. So mabye there is still hope.
A guy I know at a sprint store said I could come in and play with it on sunday, mabye it will have it :(.
A VVM app written for the Pre does not need to access Sprints VVM, i.e. I have Phonefusion VVM on my Sprint Touch Diamond, it works much better than Kluasners VVM version which Sprint uses. I can receive faxes as well with Phonefusion VVM. That is the beauty of webOS, app's can easily be written for it, I am sure an app will be written for webOS. That being said, yesterday I was speaking with a rep who was sure the Pre had VVM, I asked him to verify, he said, "the Palm Pre has integrated voicemail, which is VVM." He even said there is a VVM icon you use to directly access VVM. I guess we have to wait until we have the Pre in our hands.
Its not a big deal for me that it doesnt have VVM.
Thanks for sharing. I was worried that you might really need it.
Thank you for expressing negative, sarcastic feelings publicly.
Youmail is my visual voicemail of choice. It does transcribing (which is pretty accurate... it also allows you to assign different messages to different callers or caller groups. Finally it does provide both visual voicemail and can also email you a MP3 of your VM...
The beauty of webOS though is that just because it doesn't have visual voicemail at launch, doesn't mean it wont be added later. This thing isn't a Treo or Windows Mobile phone guys.
Software Updates!!!! They will breathe new life into our Pres. It almost makes the Pre an investment.
A thing of beauty that every smartphone after the Treos and Centros have had. Blackberry pushes the updates out to the device and iPhones do it via iTunes. It's like they are holding back standard smartphone features to amaze and delight their existing users over the next couple of years.
VVM is not that big of a deal for me. A nice extra, but and no way a deal breaker for me.
k
Voicemail is so analog, so is voice chatting too. I hate it when people call me at the office, then they give me a list of things I have to do so I end up having to either hope I remember, or I have to top that stuff out, while on the phone or listening to voicemail. It's all crap. If it's in email or a text message, then it's recorded and I can refer back to it later. I have enough rollover minutes on my AT&T plan now that I could talk non-stop on the phone from now until the Pre is released. If I had the option, I'd get zero minutes and unlimited data on my Pre.
Trust me you, we will see a VVM app soon after June 6th, either in the App catalog or through a OTA firmware update!
I have Google Voice. Problem Solved.
So I read the whole thing, got some laughs, but still no answer. The funny thing is that the only person that does leave me voicemails is my mother! lol
NEWSFLASH: Voicemail is dead anyway.
http://www.slate.com/id/2217998/
No Visual Voice Mail....
That's like JJ with no "DYNOMITE"....
The lack of Visual Voicemail is a HUGE oversight by Palm. I will still get the Pre but am not happy about this lack of planning. It is not like Palm hasn't known for a VERY long time that they had this partnership with Sprint and that Sprint provided the VVM service. It cannot be that difficult to incorporate VVM, my crappy Instinct has it, and it is the worst smartphone (it shouldn't even be allowed in that category) I have used and I have been using smartphones since the Qualcomm Q Phone. The VVM capability has been fantastic for organizing and keeping important voicemails for business. Not great thought process on Palm's part for capturing business.
Why are you acting like VVM is a necessary element?! This does not show a "lack of planning" because they did not include native VVM application! VVM is a convenience that takes about 1 day to write an app for!
There is nothing crappy about your Instinct either! It was never intended to be a smartphone! Its a great media phone that does a lot of great things! I doesn't do everything your heart desires I am sure! Stop being a frrucking drama queen!
Danny-boy -
You are the only one being a huge drama queen on this thread. The fact that no one calls you and that you don't have a need for VVM doesn't mean that others don't. As evidenced here, there are others that need it. And to your comment that it would "only take 1 day to write an app for" I couldn't agree more. It should be native and I think Palm had the resources to do so. Please try to see other peoples point of view instead of working tediously to defend your fair maiden. Jeez - what a queen.
Well for me Visual Voice Mail has been a breath of fresh air and a life saver! I run a small business and I get about 100 calls per day, but I only have time to answer about 10% of those calls because a lot of times I am busy doing something when the call comes in. With regular VM I would have to dedicate about 20 min. each evening to sit and go through all of the voice mails. Now with VVM on my iphone I can sort through them easily and selectively listen to ones I know might be important and delete ones from my mother (haha). It's also a good reminder if you have an important message to follow up on. I once received an important vm on my BB Curve and listened to it during the evening but forgot about it and then didn't follow up with my client and I ended up loosing a big deal. I have done the same thing since but with VVM I will usually see the message still sitting there the next day and go oh yeah I need to return that call. Anyway, I know that a lot of you geeks out there only get calls from your mom but some of us have a real life. (sorry couldn't resist)
Visual Voice Mail is a minor leap forward over traditional voicemail, but the wave of the future is transcription. Even with VVM, you have to actually listen to your selected messages, which is far less efficient that using a voicemail transcription service like Phonetag, YouMail or Google Voice.
Instead of having listen to callers ramble on for 1 or 2 minutes before they get to the point, you can just glance at each transcribed message to determine what it's about, and whether or not it merits a return call.
My thought is that Palm is working on a VVM solution. I noticed in the early screenshots that the VM icon had a number attached showing how many voice mails were unread. I also noticed that on the day of the launch announcement, Palm had changed the photo on their main page and removed the VM icon. Look at their main pic, it now shows the SEND key and a button that says something like "add to contacts". That to me says that they had planned VVM but maybe are working to fix other issues before this baby gets out the door. Anyway, I am hoping that an official VVM solution is in the works.
The VM icon is still there, this is current from Palms website: http://www.palm.com/us/assets/images/products/phones/detail/pre/gallery/...
The VM icon is still there, this is current from Palms website: http://www.palm.com/us/assets/images/products/phones/detail/pre/gallery/...
Where? I don't see it. :-(
Double post, how did that happen, anyways, check out this photo: http://www.slashphone.com/media/data/1391/palm-pre.jpg There are two extra icons at the bottom.
Little off topic, Look at this a side-by-side of the Treo Pro and the Pre. The keyboard on the Pre is actually wider: http://www.mobilecowboys.nl/images/upload/palm%20pre%20en%20palm%20pro.jpg
Oh, here is the photo you were referring to: http://mypre.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/palm_pre_gui_09.jpg
Ah, ok, I see it now.
I really like the look of the phone app in the second link you provided.
I believe that the Pre will have VVM! Remember we are all basing this discussion on one sentence Tweet about Synergy. It said that Synergy does not integrate messaging in the respect ot VVM. That does not exactly mean that there will be no form of VVM. Either there will be VVM on June 6 or there will be an app or firmware update soon to follow!
I have tendency to agree with you on this one Daniel.
I'm going to copy and paste my response that I posted on another board regarding this:
I think they are being coy and not wanting to compare it to and classify it as "visual voicemail". I too think they would be stupid to not have a "visual voicemail"-type feature... and I don't think Palm or Sprint is that stupid. They have the technology and the know how to do it. I think it will be wrapped into the Synergy feature and called something else.
What is the big friggin deal? It won't have vvm in the begining, that doenst mean it won't ever have it. I have a BB too and could care less. There are more important things like the. Cards feature, synergy, call quality and the ability to run the classic apps.
We won't have to pay for a new os to drop either. And if what I hear is true, there are going to be a ton of apps ready for the new store.
Stop the negativity people. We have a date and a price. Be happy there are worse things in thw world.
TeckieGirl40
Yeah, I was wondering what people would complain about once we had a date and price. I'm not wondering anymore.
I don;t think it is "negativity" to mention the phoen doesn't have an increasingly popular and increasingly available feature.
Precentral's editors would not have noticed it if it were not an important missing feature.
Noting the half dozen competitive disadvantages of the phone is no more negativity, than mentioning the half dozen competitive advantages is undo fanboyism.
My point exactly. If someone sings the praises of the Pre, that's ok. But if someone notes one fallback, they are exiled into Iphone fanboy land.This phone will have its shortcomings. Deal with it. Its just a phone. A hopefully amazing phone, but still just a phone.
Ok so I just spoke to a sprint rep about 10 mins ago he says they already have the pre and have had it for about a week or so now. They have played with it and according to him it does have visual voice mail and he loves it he is just pissed that they cannot buy one just yet.
Now you learned why Sprint Reps are idiots and the worst trained in the industry. It has no visual voice mail. But most Sprint experts don't even know the basic features of smartphones.
Well, you don't need visual voicemail when you use SpinVox, which is exactly what Palm is doing:
http://blog.spinvox.com/2009/05/22/spinvox-palm-a-pre-announcement/
What did tell all of you!
http://www.everythingpre.com/articles/2009/5/22/third-party-developer-ph...
Sorry for cross posting this in a newer comment thread, but it seems more relevant here . . .
From this SpinVox blog post:
Back in February, at Mobile World Congress, yours truly was given a fantasically in-depth walk through (I took some nice photos), of the handset in question and, as I did back then, I can again - exclusively reveal that the Palm Pre will be *completely* SpinVox ready out of the box.
You simply just have to enter in your usual SpinVox activation code and you’ll be away!
That totally destroys Visual Voice Mail, IMO.
If you go on with your work connected with this post, we will possibly purchase english dissertation in the thesis writing service online.
i like having the visual mail on my phone. they definitely need to fix this.
orlando cosmetic dentists
Want to leave a comment? Register for free!
In an effort to reduce comment spam, you need to log in to comment. Registration is fast, free, and easy and gives you access to comment, discuss the Palm Pre on the largest Pre forums on the 'net, enter contests, and much more. Join now!