Does anyone have any idea about this service? they let you dial directly into a mobile voice mail box.

I am guessing they initialize two calls at the same time checking the status and ending one that is ringing and letting the second go through, since sometimes a missed call appears on the device.

nope. Thats not how it works.

This service only works with wireless service providers. Now each of them have a phone number to get directly into their voice mail system. What sly dial does is check the phone number that you entered against a data base to see who owns the number. Then they call the voice mail number for that provider and enter the cell phone number that you dialed.

At least that is the way I think it works....

I don't care how it works, I love it.

Im not so sure it works that way since, like SDuane, I tried this when it was first posted on and I also got a missed call. I really have no idea how they do it. Thats just my experience.

liquidvw I do not think they use the vm access numbers, mostly because the missed calls which occasionally appear on handsets which have been slydialed. Also there was a company called BUZ interactive which tried to use the vm access numbers but it was not scalable since they keep changing and are tied to geography etc. That company has since ceased operation

This is the first I'm hearing of this. Is it a cell feature of some sort? Whats the idea behind it?

They set the calling number to the called number. In the phone network's view that means the subscriber called themselves and it gets rolled to voice mail.

djweis, that will roll the call into the voicemail access number, not the drop box. At that point the caller would be prompted for a pin, not to leave a message right?

I had thought fiddling with caller id was on questionable legal ground?

On my verizon phone if I check VM and hit pound a few times instead of a PIN it usually asks if I want to leave a message.
It's a bit "grey".