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AT&T to Eventually Offer Tethering in the U.S.
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Apple's implementation of MMS is different. It allows you to send pictures, video, audio files, text files, etc over the data network just like an e-mail attachment. That's a far cry from the crappy resolution pictures your 11-year-old cousin's $40 phone can do.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3g-s/messages.html#video
Most MMS-capable smart phones phones only send picture messages at around 640x480 or so. A lot of the cheap phones send picture messages at 352x288.
It's a network capacity and transcoding issue more than anything else.
AT&T is crap
Okay, let me get this straight. AT&T has known since March that Apple was making MMS available, yet they haven't had enough time to "manually batch-update their databases"? Come on, what a crock of ****! How hard is it to enable MMS. So now we've waited 2 years to finally get MMS from Apple only to have to wait on AT&T to get their **** together! What a complete joke AT&T is. I was pulling for them to keep the iPhone contract, but if it means they will take their own sweet time rolling out something simple as MMS and upgrading their networks to allow the full potential of the iPhone, then bring on the other service providers. AT&T's network has already ruined great apps like SKYPE and Sling. You're only as strong as your weakest link and Apple's weakest link now is AT&T. **** you AT&T!
Okay, let me get this straight. AT&T has known since March that Apple was making MMS available, yet they haven't had enough time to "manually batch-update their databases"? Come on, what a crock of ****! How hard is it to enable MMS. So now we've waited 2 years to finally get MMS from Apple only to have to wait on AT&T to get their **** together! What a complete joke AT&T is. I was pulling for them to keep the iPhone contract, but if it means they will take their own sweet time rolling out something simple as MMS and upgrading their networks to allow the full potential of the iPhone, then bring on the other service providers. AT&T's network has already ruined great apps like SKYPE and Sling. You're only as strong as your weakest link and Apple's weakest link now is AT&T. **** you AT&T!
i just cannot believe that at&t is not going to offer more competitive iphone voice and data plans. they are easily $180/year more than other US carriers. every other US carrier includes text messaging with their data plans. with at&t, i have to pay a $30/month mandatory data plan and then an extra $15/month for text messaging (and this was before mms was even a thought). its a scam, and i hope apple cowboy's up and takes the phone to a different carrier. i love my iphone 3g and i'd love to upgrade, but i'm not going to upgrade and get stuck for another two years with those rates.
yeah, but your 11 year old cousin's $40 phone can't view full email in HTML and all of it's attachments! I agree, Apple screwed up not realizing the amount of people that still use MMS. Emails is far superior for those that can actually get full emails on their phones, but most people can't. I honestly don't care about sending messages via MMS, it's the difficulty of going to a separate AT&T website to view ones sent by my friends without the ability to send pics and video via email from their phones. Now Apple has fixed it, only to have AT&T drag their ass and not have it enabled! AT&T network must be really weak to not be ready for the iPhone's MMSs. Not to mention banning SKYPE and Sling to operate only over WIFI.
At&t will have to change this, because apple developers aren't going to be able to use there own features in the US. At&t will be looked at for not having a service, and be viewed as being behind, and get many complains, so they will add tethering... but as for the price, we just need to petition, like they did for Canada for the 3g... someone should start a petition!
AT&T has stated that they have to "manually" change each account to accept MMS usage. How true this is, I don't know, but that is the official statement.
So this $70 / month plan is only part of the data plan right? this doesn't include any minutes etc.... sheesh, they're just trying to rip everyone the biggest ******* they can.
God-no matter how bad AT$T is, the blackberry just isn't the same phone-AT ALL.
Many friends of mine have one-and they all wish they had my 3G.
I hate AT$T as much as the next person, but the iPhone is compelling enough to keep me there.
Incidentally, my friends on verizon don't have a lot of good things to say about their "customer service" either. And they lock their damn phones up so tight-a friend with a MOTO RAZR couldn't even add his own ring tones. LAME
I miss T-Mo
God-no matter how bad AT$T is, the blackberry just isn't the same phone-AT ALL.
Many friends of mine have one-and they all wish they had my 3G.
I hate AT$T as much as the next person, but the iPhone is compelling enough to keep me there.
Incidentally, my friends on verizon don't have a lot of good things to say about their "customer service" either. And they lock their damn phones up so tight-a friend with a MOTO RAZR couldn't even add his own ring tones. LAME
I miss T-Mo
I agree but have you tried the Palm Pre? It makes the iPhone look like a walkie-talkie!
This is exactly where I'm at. Verizon won't have iPhone until 4G/LTE because Apple's not going to build a phone based on dead-end CDMA. So... I'm stuck with AT&T because I won't compromise on a phone. My iPhone has become an integral part of my business. So AT&T is part of the cost of doing that business until exclusivity ends.
Or less.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat182100050001&type=category
Disclaimer : I sell Macs
and PCs at BB.
It will be MONTHS? before we get MMS? I'm pissed the hell off wtf AT&T how long did you know we would be getting MMS and you make us wait even LONGER?! It is one of the major parts of the update I was really looking forward to using MMS and sending files via MMS.
Wow AT&T you really suck.
Wow AT&T you really suck.
AT&T brought something Apple needed. A nationwide network and a willingness to add proprietary code to an otherwise internal network.
Verizon refused and Apple really tried.
So we have what we have. AT&T is clearly overwhelmed by customers and network usage. Also the culture over there is very different from Apple or pretty much any Internet related business. They are slow, stodgy, and heavily bureaucratic.
AT&T should hire every ex-Nortel network tech TODAY and install back haul and LTE to every cell site over the current year at double to triple the rate they had planned already.
Good luck.
Rocketman
A rational business would say we have "too many customers", we need "too much capacity". AT&T is not rational.
This is an example of a vanilla commodity phone and network providing more "access" to the base user.
Verizon refused and Apple really tried.
So we have what we have. AT&T is clearly overwhelmed by customers and network usage. Also the culture over there is very different from Apple or pretty much any Internet related business. They are slow, stodgy, and heavily bureaucratic.
AT&T should hire every ex-Nortel network tech TODAY and install back haul and LTE to every cell site over the current year at double to triple the rate they had planned already.
Good luck.
Rocketman
A rational business would say we have "too many customers", we need "too much capacity". AT&T is not rational.
This is an example of a vanilla commodity phone and network providing more "access" to the base user.
I doubt Apple had a chance. You are born either an iPhone person or a Blackberry person. It's hardwired. I, for one, couldn't bear using a Blackberry. It has never even tempted me -- before the iPhone I had a series of Palm OS based phones. The iPhone is the natural successor to the smartphone kingdom. Blackberry wasn't originally a smartphone, but rather a push- messaging phone. Even now they have small screens except for the hapless Storm.
BTW where did this myth that Verizon is a joy to do business with come from anyway. I've been with all 4 major U.S. cell carriers and they are all miserable somewhere in the country and all have customer service based in the basement of a federal penitentiary.
Just as other smartphones can do with MMS and email.
Unfortunately, the iPhone crunches photos before emailing them. Down to 640x480, IIRC. In other words, iPhone email is just as crappy as dumbphone MMS.
Again, other smartphones allow attachment of the full photo.
Third party iPhone apps also allow sending the full resolution to websites.
For the record I would love to the the OPTION to use my iPhone on other carriers, as I don't find AT&T to have the service I've found from other carriers. The bottom line however is the tethering plan is not that out of line.
$70/mo is in line with any other carriers "laptop conenct" plans, but they need to make it "Unlimited" without the 5gig cap. Still pricey but for someone that uses it for business (not kids trying to play games, torrent sites etc..) which is is in line with other laptop connect plans.
Wimax is Sprints "4G" now in Balitmore and runs $80 a month for unlimited data, 7.2m is not LTE but for anyone that is paying for a 3g connect card which is $60 a month, this is not that big of a jump in price.
AT&T continues to pull the lame lack of features, crying because they have more business then they can handle bandwidth wise. I hope the day comes when Apple contracts out with another carrier and we have a choice vs locked into their lame excuses.
$70/mo is in line with any other carriers "laptop conenct" plans, but they need to make it "Unlimited" without the 5gig cap. Still pricey but for someone that uses it for business (not kids trying to play games, torrent sites etc..) which is is in line with other laptop connect plans.
Wimax is Sprints "4G" now in Balitmore and runs $80 a month for unlimited data, 7.2m is not LTE but for anyone that is paying for a 3g connect card which is $60 a month, this is not that big of a jump in price.
AT&T continues to pull the lame lack of features, crying because they have more business then they can handle bandwidth wise. I hope the day comes when Apple contracts out with another carrier and we have a choice vs locked into their lame excuses.