One of the appealing features of Apple's iPhone 3G is the ability to use visual voice mail to sort through voice messages. But now BlackBerry owners can get this ability on many popular models thanks to a new free service from YouMail.

Visual voice mail can be a timesaver for workers on the go, as it enables users to see who left messages without having to listen to every voice mail. YouMail had been offering this service through the mobile Web, but the Visual Voicemail Plus version puts an in-box on the handset.

"Visual voice mail is only a small portion of what voice mail needs to and can do," YouMail CEO Alex Quilici said. "YouMail's Visual Voicemail Plus allows BlackBerry users to enjoy the speed and convenience of visual voice mail, for free, in addition to having access to all of the other voice mail enhancements in YouMail's award-winning voice mail service."

The application enables users to scroll through voice messages and see the callers' names, time of calls, and length of messages. Consumers will also be able to forward voice messages and share them on social networking sites. BlackBerry users also will be able to listen to their voice mails on a desktop PC, and there's a premium option of having voice mails transcribed and sent to the handset.

Visual Voicemail Plus is now available for BlackBerry handsets like the Bold, Pearl, Curve, and the touch-screen Storm. The visual voice mail service is already available on multiple Verizon phones, including the Storm, but it comes with a $2.99 monthly fee. While YouMail doesn't charge for some of its services, users may still face a forwarding or text-message fee from their carriers.