Vimessa launches its video messaging service today, taking claim of the world’s first video voicemail app for any mobile device.  You can send high-definition video messages for free to any mobile phone number or email address in the world, bypassing the video chat fad all together.

Compared to other services like iMessage, FaceTime, MMS and other video message services, Vimessa, a Y Combinator startup, works on any mobile device and computer, including feature phones, smartphones and tablets.

So what differentiates Vimessa from other services?  One could say that it’s a personal, creative and convenient way for people to share their lives and stay connected anytime, anywhere.  Vimessa is hopping on the mobile video revival to encourage the sharing of experiences, communicating through a video clip instead of mere text or bland audio.

“Vimessa is fast and convenient like texting, but much more personal because of the visual and emotional power of video,” said Peter Clark, CEO and Co-founder of Vimessa. “Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, going to a restaurant, a concert or any other event, Vimessa is the easiest way to stay connected with family, friends and colleagues.”

While Vimessa aims to be a cross-platform product to encompass the full mobile sphere, it’s currently available today for the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, and iPod Touch.  It will soon be available for iPad, iPad 2, Android and Windows devices.  If your friends doesn’t have Vimessa on their mobile devices, they can still receive Vimessa messages that contains a link where your friend can view your video message.

The mobile sector and all its variants can be a tough challenge for any developer, and Clark spend a great deal of time making sure Vimessa works “as expected.”  He wants the user to be able to trust the app to do the right thing.  That means building specifically for each platform it will support, starting with iOS.  The nuances in creating an app with a true user experience means considering what to do with a video message if a phone is offline.

As Vimessa expands to other mobile platforms, it plans on growing its social footprint as well.  That’s not to say you’ll be posting video clips the same you would a tweet, but finding ways to incorporate your Facebook address will further simplify the sharing capabilities of this messaging tool.  Clark is also looking to add the ability to send a video message directly to a Facebook friend, as you would any other private message.

The rise of mobile video messaging

There are other video messaging apps available for the iPhone like FacePlant which lets you leave and receive video messages from your friends, even if they are not on FacePlant and, also alerts you for incoming messages.  MediaSend lets you create and send MMS messages that contains photos, videos or even yourGPS location, while VideoMail enables you to create and send video, photo and audio email messages quickly and easily.

iVisit lets users create and send video or audio voicemails, and carry on multiparty video calls, while ooVoo offers video messaging aside from the usual video call and  video conference features.

Contributors: Mellisa Tolentino