An Update on the Case for MMS on the iPhone

It seems I struck a nerve with my earlier post titled The Case for MMS on the iPhone. That post gets more than twenty-four times the traffic of the next most popular post on my site. Yesterday alone, it was viewed by over 500 unique visitors--that is a lot for my blog, especially considering I posted the article about a month-and-a-half ago. This post is an update, if you have not read the other one, you may want to do that first.

I've gotten a bunch of email on the topic (not all of it polite), as well as participated in lively discussions on other sites. This is clearly a hot topic. I thought I'd respond here to some of the comments I've been receiving and update you with some new info. The following are examples of the types of feedback I've gotten.

Response: "Shut up!"
I am always amazed at how some people seem to think that I should be grateful to Apple for the iPhone and that any criticism is some sort of heresy. One of the most polite examples is the person who said "complaining about this seems akin to getting your first teleportation device and complaining about the lack of trunk space." I just want to point out that comparing the iPhone to a teleportation device is nonsense. There are lots of other devices on the market that do phone, email, web browsing, and so on. I think the iPhone is the best of them by far, and so I bought one. That does not mean I should feel that I can't express an opinion on what I perceive as its shortcomings, nor does it mean I should be attacked for my position. Discourse is welcome, name-calling is a waste of time.

Response: "I don't use MMS, so Apple should not support it"
Just because you do not use MMS does not mean no one does. I personally never use GPS on my iPhone, but I don't disparage it. There are actually a lot of features I do not use on my phone (and it sounds like Apple is adding a bunch more stuff in 2.2 that I am not interested in.) But all evidence points to the fact that MMS is popular. When I wrote the original post, a quarter of US cellphone users had used MMS. Since then, AT&T has reported that MMS volumes in the third quarter were more than double 2007 levels.

Response: "Just email the photo!"
I explained this sufficiently in my previous post. MMS and email are two completely different things. If the iPhone did not have text messaging, no one would be satisfied using email instead. Besides, most cell phone users do not use email on their phones.

Response: "MMS is bad technology"
This comment has come from people who say that the MMS standard is poorly constructed or hard to work with or could carry viruses. To all this, I say "so what?" Much of the same could be said for email, but that does not make it any less useful or fun. Since when has Apple backed away from doing something because it was hard? And besides, virtually every other phone in the world supports MMS--this means is is both a widely-used standard and nowhere near impossible to implement.

Response: "No one wants MMS on the iPhone. You are the only one complaining."
This is simply not true. Since I posted my article, I've been contacted by many more people who agree than disagree. I've seen the same sentiment on other forums. Readers have pointed me to two petitions (here and here) begging Apple to add the feature. And a new site called pleasefixtheiphone.com allows users to vote for the features they want most. Picture messaging (MMS) has been in the top 5 every time I have looked. As I write this, it is in the #1 spot, just ahead of Copy and Paste.

I still think Apple and AT&T need to add MMS capability to the iPhone, but even short of that, there are smaller steps they should take to improve the terrible user experience their customers have with it. Is anyone at Apple or AT&T listening?

Comments

[kenny]

You are 100% correct!!!!

[Christian Thomas]

As you know I'm not a MMS user but I'm also not deaf and blind to the public demand for this service. So yes I think Apple should have supported it from day one, but I'm a personal believer that (push) email is the right protocol for ALL messaging.
As Apple has done in the past, they have dropped or refused to support a technology because they are looking into their crystal ball and seeing it at a dead end technology and offering us, at first, a painful transition. Once all phones have email enabled, and offer a decent experience there is no reason to support legacy protocols that are poorly implemented at the carrier, offer sketchy inter-carrier support, no delivery guarantees, etc etc. There should be one integrated messaging application where I send and receive SMS/MMS/Email.
I also want my SMS/MMS messages to be accessible on other devices. Like email it needs to be stored centrally, and accessible from desktop/laptop/mobile. Again with push email we could eventually see that happen.

[olivier PEYRE]

Hi,
We've juste released an update to the PleaseFixtheiPhone site, now with Search tool and Duplicate Management:
http://pleasefixtheiphone.com

And MMS is wish #1!

Hugs,
the PleaseFixtheiPhone team

[Johnny]

MMS, MMS, MMS, MMS, MMS, put it on the iPhone apple..you are stupid if you dont..its aggrevating as hell doing this through email..i SAID PUT MMS ON THE iPHONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Byron]

I WANT MY MMS FOR MY IPHONE!!!!!!!!!!!

I can Get free BlackBerry phones from a rep that i know.... I just turned her down for a bold (after i had a curve) because i liked the touch screen and operation of the Iphone (yes i have AT&T!!).........Well i think i am going to return my phone and get the Bold!!!!!!

I do not understand why they made this great phone and did not include mms. I do not use mms that often, but when i want to, i want to!!!!!!

THIS IS A DEAL BREAKER FOR ME!!!!!!!!! I WANT MY MMS!!!!!!!!

[Angela]

I have had my iphone for 24 hours now and I am very disappointed that Apple and AT&T left off such a basic function on a fantastic phone. I am seriously thinking about returning it. I enjoyed my MMS.

[Jonathan]

if you open your mail application and make a message to (insertphonenumberhere)@mms.att.com that person will get your message as a mms message, and they can reply, it will go to your mail account. it works just as well.......... and it doesnt count as a message!

[Drew McManus]

Hi Jonathan:

Thanks for your comment. In my experience, the method you are suggesting does not work. Have you used it successfully?

Drew

[Jim Hawkins]

As a current verizon contract user, and a hopeful future iphone owner, I have spent endless hours trying to understand why, why, why ?? ATT & Apple would not have MMS..
All they would do is :
1. Make about 5 million subscribers happy !
2. Increase their profit !

WTF ?????

[Jim Hawkins]

BTW... my verizon contract is up in May, so that leaves me a few options..
1. Stay with verizon (shitty phones)
2. Go with ATT (iphone without mms?)
3. But an unlocked Nokia E-71 and use ATT... ?
Hmmmmm (I do like the touch screen & Safari)
C'mon APPLE get your heads outta your asses !
For God's sake ! It's a freakin win-win !

[FRANK]

HEY WOULD BE NICE TO FORWARD A TXT MESSAGE TOO DONT FORGET THAT.HOW MANY PEOPLE GET TXTED A JOKE YOU WANT TO SEND TO A FRIEND BUT WAIT YOU CANT BECAUSE YOU CANT FORWARD.IM GUESSING THE IPHONE ISNT CAPABLE TO DO SUCH A HARD TASK .LOL
IM STARTING TO THINK THEY JUST WONT EVEER COME OUT WITH IT.IF THEY HAVENT DONE SO IN 2 YRS.JUST GIVE UP THEY SUCK THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT US.THEY JUST WANT THERE MONEY.ALL THE OTHER PHONES HAVE REAL TIME GPS NAVAGATION ...WHAT DO WE GET A FAKE ASS TRACKER WHICH SUX .I CAN SEE THEY DONT TAKE THIS SERIOUS AND WILL PROBABLY FAIL VERY SOON.G1 PHONE SAMSUNG INSTICNT ALL HAVE REAL TIME GPS OH AND MMS STEVE JOBS YOU SUCK NUTZ

[Steven]

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO USE MMS, AND AN UPDATE COMES WITH MMS, JUST DON'T USE IT. THE PEOPLE WHO WANT MMS CAN USE IT. IT'S KINDA LIKE THE STOCKS APP FOR ME, I DON'T USE IT ONE BIT AND I HATE IT BUT DO I COMPLAIN ALL OVER FORUMS ABOUT MY HATRED TOWARDS STOCKS.APP??? NO!!!! SO IF MMS COMES OUT AND YOU DON'T WANT IT, THEN DON'T BOTHER UPDATING OR UPDATE AND SIMPLY DON'T USE MMS... FUCKING RETARDS. I WANT MMS AND I KNOW I'M GONNA USE IT.

[Johnny]

as i see it, apple should have had mms and copy and paste on this high tech phone...its absurd to see it not have such the simplest of things on such a phone!!!!!!! I want MMS n Copy paste...too many times people ask me for numbers or some type of information and i cant just copy paste it. And i want to see my chick send me pics through mms not go through my damn email!!!!!!

[Josh]

The main reason I want MMS enabled for iPhones is the fact that I can't stand having to use safari, and go to the poor excuse of a website to view the MMS content, which doesn't even allow me to save pictures since it's in Shockwave format. Having to open safari is a to waste my iPhone's battery when I could be using the text window which requires much less battery and is far more time efficient. Plus I would like to have the opportunity to share my pictures and videos to friends as they do to me.

[nameless2k]

Apple care shit about standards. Just forget it. Now there are rumors, they are going to support MMS and copy and paste in iPhone OS 3. Well, are they kidding? They must be!

Copy and Paste and MMS are basic functions of any organizer. They are implemented from the very beginning. Even my old Siemens S55 (which is no organzier at all) can handle MMS or copy and paste.

Anyone saying: shut up, should shut the fuck up himself. Apple has brought the mobile internet major steps forward. But this is it.

- no flash support
- no java
- no MMS
- no copy and paste

This really is a poor performance. Instead we now got 3G. Wow. Are they kidding the customers?

No more Apple please. I am only bored by that ignorance. Let's check the Palm Pre. Prolly this will be our new home.