Verizon To Feature Visual VoicemailVerizon To Feature Visual Voicemail

If you're a fan of the iPhone's much-touted Visual Voicemail but can't possibly see yourself signing up for AT&T's service, you may be in luck. It looks like Verizon Wireless is slated to rock this feature on select handsets this summer.Back in December, Klausner Technologies sued Apple and AT&T over patents relating to Visual Voicemail. The case was recently settled, and we've seen this feature licensed onto Samsung's soon-to-be-released Instinct.

The spies at Engadget Mobile reported that Verizon will be joining the party. It's expected to be available on five devices: The LG Chocolate 3, Motorola Utopia (also known as the Vu30), the Voyager Refresh, a touch-screen device called Blaze, and Research in Motion's intriguing touch-screen BlackBerry.

In a bit of a bummer, it looks like Big V will charge $1.99 a month for it, even though the competitors aren't. Verizon looks to be targeting a late July, early August release, although representatives from the company did not confirm this. If and when it does come out, it should be available as an over-the-air BREW download.

It's interesting to see some of the iPhone's features bleed into different devices. First it was the touch-screen interface -- I know it wasn't the first, but can you honestly say we're seeing a glut of touch screens because of the Treo? -- and now Visual Voicemail is finding its way onto other phones.