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Honestly: MMS?

Are you waiting for a MMS update, or could you careless?

  • Total voters
    253
nickspohn

nickspohn

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 9, 2007
3,592
0
Is there REALLY (and i underline really as in you're going to die without MMS soon) a need for MMS on the iPhone?

My personal opinion, and it's almost a fact that us US'ers don't see the need for it at all (minus a few) and the UK'ers wanting this feature as they use it as much as the US uses texting.

So lets vote. <3

ps. i voted no.
 
I live in the UK, own a UK iPhone and couldn't give a sh*t if MMS never appeared on the phone. I can't understand why given the free WiFi and unlimited data access over EDGE would people want to pay the equivalent of 3x SMS messages to send a picture when there are FREE alternatives.

UK: wake up and embrace e-mail :rolleyes:
 
Devil's Refugee said:
I live in the UK, own a UK iPhone and couldn't give a sh*t if MMS never appeared on the phone. I can't understand why given the free WiFi and unlimited data access over EDGE would people want to pay the equivalent of 3x SMS messages to send a picture when there are FREE alternatives.

UK: wake up and embrace e-mail :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I also agree and think that email is a much better alternative. In the past whenever I have sent or received an MMS it has either not worked at all or has come up as a text saying please visit this website and enter a username and password. If people need to go on the internet to view a picture in the first place why not make it easy and just email it to them?

Just a shame you can't send more than 1 picture yet
 
I don't think i've ever sent an MMS in my life, but i have received a fair few, and although it's not a feature many people will use everyday, it should still be included, support to receive them at least, as more phones support MMS then they do email, in the UK anyway
 
hollerz said:
I agree. I wish everyone had phones that could receive email, unfortunately they don't. However I don't think email is an excuse for Apple not to include MMS on the "most advanced" phone ever.
Click to expand...

Soon everyone will use email not SMS. Japan have done this for years.
 
How about if you send MMSs to other phones that can't access email?
What are the options then?
 
The Phazer said:
Not in the next five years. Seriously.

As said above, MMS is still important for communicating with the 90% of people who don't use mobile email.
Click to expand...


As much as I'd lke to see MMS on my iPhone I have a feeling within a couple of years most people will be doing this by email. You'll still get people's grans SMSing and maybe the occasional MMS then but most of the UK will have moved.

Now, the thing that will limit this is how well O2 upgrade their networks. They're behind schedule with the EDGE upgrades already judging from my real-world tests.
 
koobcamuk said:
Soon everyone will use email not SMS. Japan have done this for years.
Click to expand...

Uhh.. there's a huge difference between SMS and MMS - this thread was about the later.

Even if email takes it over (very doubtful about this one because MMS is huge here in Spain and the rest of Europe) somehow, there would still have to be some sort of universal cross-platform video/photo viewer - something that MMS already does.
 
killerrobot said:
Uhh.. there's a huge difference between SMS and MMS - this thread was about the later.
Click to expand...

I don't think there's anyone who posts on here that doesn't know the difference. Once people get into using email for MMS then SMS will go that way too.

In fact IM'ing is probably the replacement for SMS. I mean even Apple think this way: look at the interface for SMS on the iPhone. Very iChat.
 
Sorry can't vote...

My answer would actually be that I couldn't care less.

The truth is, I don't need to send MMS messages. However, I do receive MMS messages a few times a week. The very least that AT&T could do is provide a website to view those messages that wasn't based on flash which is unusable from the iPhone.
 
emotion said:
I don't think there's anyone who posts on here that doesn't know the difference. Once people get into using email for MMS then SMS will go that way too.

In fact IM'ing is probably the replacement for SMS. I mean even Apple think this way: look at the interface for SMS on the iPhone. Very iChat.
Click to expand...

Just making sure we're all on the same page... I got lost in some previous statements;).

My whole reasoning for MMS support is why would I want to open up an email program to write a messsage or send a video when I can do it without the extra step - especially on the receiving end - open email, download the video, then get to watch it, versus recieve the MMS and decide to watch it immediately.
 
MMS Needed

I dont personally send many MMS messages but i have tons of friends that send them to me and it is a real pain in the ass to have to go and login on line to view it, if AT&T sent the text with a direct link to the website it would not be an issue to view them.
 
killerrobot said:
Just making sure we're all on the same page... I got lost in some previous statements;).

My whole reasoning for MMS support is why would I want to open up an email program to write a messsage or send a video when I can do it without the extra step - especially on the receiving end - open email, download the video, then get to watch it, versus recieve the MMS and decide to watch it immediately.
Click to expand...

As it happens, I agree.

I think this is like the floppy disk though. Apple are forcing a tech change here. As I'm not a heavy MMS user I'll happily go along with that - as long as O2 get their networks upto EDGE quickly. Which they don't apear to have done yet in most areas the said they would.
 
Devil's Refugee said:
UK: wake up and embrace e-mail :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I agree to a point. However, if most people have ordinary bog standard mobile phones, emailing something to them is pretty pointless.

The whole idea with MMS is that you can send a picture to somebody's phone and they can access it without having to log into an email account which will most probably require a computer for most mobile phone users.

I hardly ever use MMS messaging and it's not essential but it is useful occasionally.
 
emotion said:
Apple are forcing a tech change here. As I'm not a heavy MMS user I'll happily go along with that - as long as O2 get their networks up to EDGE quickly. Which they don't appear to have done yet in most areas the said they would.
Click to expand...

IMO, to borrow you're words here, I agree that Apple is trying to force a tech change. And while their email approach might be successful in the US where MMS is definitely less prevalent than in the EU, I think for any phone maker to fully succeed in the EU they need to support MMS. That being said, I'm not a marketing genius, but all you have to do is watch 3 minutes of commercials on Spanish TV to see there are plenty of companies that have heavily invested in MMS for ring tones, background images, and even pr0n videos that feed money back into the cell phone service provider and maker.
 
In the UK and queued for 2 hours to get an iPhone, completely love it, best gadget I have ever owned. Best email and internet ever on a hand held.
I know that email is much better than MMS and cheaper but would still use it if it was on the iphone. If I get a text I read it there and then, same for a MMS, if I get an email I wait till I have time to check my email. It's a much more instant form of communication for mobile devices than email. People send MMSs mostly for amusement, not because they expect the pictures to be printed out and gazed at in wonder, so the lack of pixels isn't a problem.
I also don't understand the email is better, so why have it then. If that was the case why would we have SMS, email is much better? I think we should have both because most people don't have an iPhone, and it is going to take years for SE, Motorola and Nokia to catch up with the iphone so the non iphone (and blackberry) world is not going to read an email when they are away from their computer. Most people I know have MMS capable phones, don't know anyone else with an iPhone yet, so O2 are missing out on any revenue they would have got from me from sending MMSs.
The other iPhone fan's argument that you get is that you can just email their mobile number, i.e. +447123456789@o2.co.uk or something, but while I have sent MMS to email easily enough I have never got it to work the other way.
Lack of MMS is just another one of these things you have to put up with (no multiple recipients for text, nor forwarding texts, no video camera, no saving pictures to your photos etc. etc...) for owning an iphone . Like not having a big boot and rear seats on a sports car, but you live with it because it goes round corners fast and looks great. And obviously I am willing to live without them because I did buy the phone, but it is a glaring ommission and if we are being honest I am sure most people were surprised when they first heard the iPhone didn't have it.
Obviously not having it is not the worst thing in the world, but I'd still rather have it.
 
I could not care less. :p

Had MMS for years, never used it. The email function though is great and I've used it several times since purchase on Friday.
 
killerrobot said:
Uhh.. there's a huge difference between SMS and MMS - this thread was about the later.
Click to expand...

I know the damn difference!

SMS and MMS should go the way of email. Have a look at the way Japan do things. We'll see a very good iPhone when it's released in Japan. To succeed there it will blow our pants off in the west.
 
SMS and Email have a totally different use. SMS is for short messages.. its reception is almost always instant, it works on every phone available. In the UK 1 Billion texts a week are sent (that's about 1600 every second - I wonder if even email volume is up to that level).

Email is for larger messages. It's hard to setup, you can't email a phone number - you need to remember a separate address (and a lot of people do not have an email address anyway, or a PC with which to collect an email), there's a *huge* spam problem so 90% of the time when you get an email it's junk anyway.

What I've been finding is more and more people are not emailing me but texting instead.. it's email that's dying not text. MMS rides on the back of that - sending pictures to friends MMS is the way to go unless they're in bluetooth range (which the iphone can't do either, so it loses on that too).
 
I don't think much of MMS as a technology, but it's all about what your friends use. So yeah, I'd quite like it before I get an iPhone, it's not nice to be left out because your piece of tech is missing a feature that everyone else has.

Can't see it happening though, it's like asking for a floppy drive on a Mac. Apple have killed it off so it's time everyone dragged themselves into the 21st century... it's for the greater good :)
 
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