According to a report this week on The Mac Observer, Apple and AT&T have been presented with a class action lawsuit by a customer who accuses them of misleading the public by advertising the MMS capabilities of the iPhone 3GS despite not making those capabilities available in the U.S. when it launched.

(Yawn.) I’ll let you mull over whether the accusation is fair; the plaintiff, Francis Monticelli, says in the suit that “MMS functionality was one of the reasons people chose to buy or upgrade… it has [become] clear that AT&T’s network does not support MMS.”

TMO points out Apple made it quite clear MMS functionality would not be available in America at the launch of the iPhone 3GS. Surely you remember the hilarious (and embarrassing) murmur of amusement and derision from the audience at this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference when Scott Forstall introduced MMS? “29 of our carrier partners in 76 countries around the world will support MMS at the launch of iPhone OS 3.0,” Forstall announced, then, trying to keep a straight face, added, “In the United States, AT&T will be ready to support MMS later this summer.”

Still, that little fact hasn’t stopped Monticelli suing, though I’m sure he won’t get far. I’ll never quite understand the litigation-happy nature of some of my American cousins (here in England we prefer to send strongly-worded letters of complaint) but it got me thinking about the now-forgotten drama of iPhone MMS. I can’t help wondering — was it really such a big deal? I mean, now you’ve got it, do you ever use it? Would you truly miss it if it disappeared overnight?

When MMS first appeared via the iPhone OS 3.0 update I couldn’t wait to try it out. I took a photo of a bowl of apples (go figure) and sent it to a pal. “I have MMS!” I declared, proudly. “So?” he enquired, puzzled. (I forget sometimes not everyone is an iPhone user and therefore have always had MMS.) That was back in June, a good five months ago. It was the first — and last — iPhone MMS I ever sent.

Old Habits…

Color me conditioned by my experience with previous iPhone OS limitations, but if I want to send someone a photo I instinctively use the Mail app. I’m not alone, either — fellow iPhone owners never send me MMS messages but also choose to use Mail instead (I know because of all those “Sent from my iPhone” footers I keep seeing).

I’m trying to figure out when and how this habit started; it’s easy to say it’s the result of Apple’s decision not to support MMS functionality, but if I force my grey cells to work a little harder, and think back to those dark times before the iPhone, I don’t have any fond memories of MMS. Sure, I had the function on every one of my old phones, but I barely ever used it. So perhaps my aversion to MMS started then…

Either way, I don’t care for MMS. It’s a clunky old technology that never mattered to me. Not even my most geeky of friends ever bothered using it, with or without adding an iPhone into the equation.

Apple’s Chief of iPod/iPhone Marketing Greg Joswiak once said the iPhone originally didn’t include (amongst other things) MMS functionality because it wasn’t high on the list of features customers wanted from their mobile phones.

Naturally, there was an outcry. People were either ambivalent (they didn’t care or simply accepted email was an adequate alternative) or they were furious. Spend a little time picking through any of the popular Mac discussion boards from 2007 onward and you’ll find plenty of disgruntled punters lamenting Apple’s decision to not support the feature.

You know how, when a child isn’t playing with a toy, and you try to take the toy away, the child will instantly want it and make a scene if they don’t get it? It’s that peculiarly human tendency to want what we don’t have, or what is being taken (or withheld) from us. Well, I wonder, was the outcry over MMS the same thing? And now we have it, how many of us are actually using it?

If you’re in the States and didn’t jailbreak your iPhone, MMS is still fairly new to you and you might still be enjoying the novelty of finally getting it working. So, while MMS is fresh in your minds (and your iPhones) perhaps you can answer the question — where do we really stand with MMS?

Is it an indispensable tool Apple had no business keeping from us this long? Or should we reluctantly (and perhaps a little bashfully) admit it wasn’t worth all that fuss and noise — Apple was right not to make it a priority and, if we’re really truthfully honest, we never used it anyway…

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According to the Twittersphere, AT&T has begun flipping the switch on MMS across the U.S. today. Sources say that AT&T will be sending out text messages, beginning at 10 A.M. EST today, to notify customers when MMS service is available for their use.

Customers and industry watchers alike are waiting anxiously to see how AT&T’s network will cope with the increased demand MMS will cause. AT&T spokesman Seth Bloom doesn’t expect any problems, however, noting in an email that:

SMS and MMS messages are carried differently than other network traffic.  This is one of the reasons why when there’s a natural disaster or other large scale emergency situation (e.g., earthquake or something like that) that causes a huge and sudden spike in voice calls, wireless carriers suggest that people send text messages. They’re likely to get through when the voice circuits are busy.

Stacey at GigaOM goes into more detail about how MMS and SMS work compared to regular voice calls. She concludes that the true linchpin factor in today’s launch will be the strength of AT&T’s servers. Clearly, the carrier must be fairly confident in their ability to handle the strain, or we’d likely still be waiting for the company to announce a start date.

Some, like Twitter user Connor Stanton, are hoping that AT&T won’t be equal to the task and that its failure to meet the demand will result in a breakdown of the exclusivity deal between the carrier and Apple. Stanton writes, “Come on AT&T. I want to crash your infrastructure when MMS rolls out so Apple will kill iPhone’s exclusivity in US. Kthnxbye.” In theory, if Apple thinks AT&T network woes are having a significant impact on its iPhone sales, we could see it take its business elsewhere.

There’s even a plan circulating on social media networks for AT&T iPhone users to simultaneously send out MMS messages at 5 P.M. EST to attempt to crash the network on purpose. I wonder if AT&T accounted for organized attempts to destabilize its network in preparation for today’s launch.

To activate MMS on your iPhone, plug your device into your computer. Click on it in the source list in iTunes, and then click the “Check for Update” button. You should see a dialog that says, “An update to the carrier settings for your iPhone is available. Would you like to download it now?” Click “Download and Update” and wait for the process to finish. Carrier settings updates are normally very fast. Once it’s finished, the camera icon should appear in your text messaging dialog, and new menu options should open up in your other native apps for sending various types of media.

Once activated, you’ll be able to send photos, video, audio, map locations, and contact information via MMS to other enabled devices. Very handy for making sure the sofa color you’re looking at is OK with your significant other before making a purchase, for example.

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AT&T is taking a staggered approach to the activation of this long-awaited iPhone OS 3.0 feature, probably in an effort to minimize the effects of the rollout. If my own experience is any indication, the vast majority of network strain resulting from MMS will occur when users first activate it, after which most will probably only touch it sporadically.

Judging by this staggered introduction, AT&T’s primary concern with the MMS rollout is to minimize the impact to its network, which is already suffering under the strain of so many iPhone users, and which has already caused some to jump ship in search of better quality and consistency.

If you’re one of the lucky people to benefit from early activation, you should see a new “Cellular Data Network” menu item in the General > Network settings page, and a small camera icon will appear in the lower left-hand corner of your Messages app, which will allow you direct access to either the device’s camera or your pictures folders.

Oddly, the reports seem to indicate no correlation at all between carrier bundle or software version installed on their device, or their physical location, and the activation of MMS. When Apple originally introduced MMS in iPhone 3.0, here in Canada a carrier settings update was required before the service would work or the icon would even appear. AT&T’s activation suggests that no change on the user’s end of things is actually required to get things up and running, which isn’t what AT&T spokesman Brad Mays originally seemed to suggest:

The service will be enabled with a software update on the launch date. Customers can obtain the update from iTunes, just like all other iPhone updates.

Once activated, iPhone 3.0 users will be able to send photos, videos, audio, address book contact info and Maps locations via the Messaging app on their devices. By default, an MMS opt out is attached to all AT&T iPhone owners’ accounts, which must be removed prior to MMS functioning. If you’re experiencing problems, contact AT&T to make sure this has been lifted on your account.

Let us know if you’ve received MMS activation yet, where you are, and how you find the service so far (any noticeable network effects, for example).

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AT&T customers can finally get their multimedia messaging on come the end of September, according to a company spokesman speaking to TUAW’s Mel Martin today. The official go-live date is Sept. 25, which falls only a tad short of the company’s original late summer prediction for the service.

Spokesman Brad Mays ascribes the lateness of MMS’ arrival to the unmatched size of AT&T’s iPhone user base. The U.S. provider does have far more subscribers than any other carrier globally, and its network has shown signs of strain already. No doubt significant infrastructure build or reconfiguration was required to enable MMS support.

MMS will be enabled via a carrier settings software update on Sept. 25, which users will be able to download by connecting their iPhone to iTunes and approving the update when prompted. No actual iPhone firmware update should be required at that time.

Mays also comments briefly on tethering, but sadly, only to dash your hopes, my American friends:

As for tethering, by its nature, this function could exponentially increase traffic on the network, and we need to ensure that some of our current upgrades are in place before we can deliver the expanded functionality with the excellent performance that customers expect. We expect to offer tethering in the future.

Well, maybe not dash exactly, but definitely forestall indefinitely. The activation of MMS will likely act as a test for AT&T to see just how much pressure its network can sustain at this point, so it would be unwise for it to make any solid predictions about when it’ll be able to offer tethering until those results are in.

Check out TUAW’s post for the full-length press release from Mays.

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Is anyone really surprised?

We know that AT&T and every other cell phone carrier overcharges for service, taking into account the sheer volume of users and how long cell phone technology has been around. Considering how much providing basic cell phone service costs, and how relatively inexpensive it is to add text messages and data support, it’s clear that companies like AT&T stand to make a pretty penny.

I mean, honestly; it costs an extra $20 a month for unlimited texting in addition to $30 a month for “unlimited” iPhone data usage. Really? Text messaging costs two-thirds the price of always-on, feature rich email? Emails that support video, audio and images; something iPhone users still aren’t getting because of a lack of MMS support. There’s just no way the pricing structure is based on the product.

Looking at the Big Picture

The WSJ report reveals that AT&T’s profit margin for its wireless services are considered high at 25%. It makes sense, considering many people likely pay extra for hefty plans (data, text, video, etc.), when the actual impact on AT&T’s network is marginal. Granted, sometimes coverage is spotty and “crowded” but the fact is, that’s not because we’re causing too much strain on the network, it’s because AT&T should be investing in making these networks more interoperable with others and capable of carrying more users, but is instead price gouging customers for increasingly horrible service.

Are they taking advantage of us? Yes. We know that. (Even David Pogue agrees with his “Take Back The Beep Campaign”) So why on earth would AT&T quietly stand aside and allow Google Voice, since it represents such a dramatic shift from the norm? Google knows that voice calls and text messages are very easy on bandwidth. AT&T knows that allowing Google to steal its profits marks the end of an era. Landlines gave and continue to give ground to cell phones, and customers are switching to VoIP services or other mediums like Twitter or Google Voice for communication. Cell service might be next on the chopping block, if something like Google Voice is allowed to take root and grow.

The Future

Can AT&T reinvent itsefl and survive? The economy is tough, so now is the perfect time to be daring and really focus on your customers. Or will AT&T continue to overcharge and stifle innovation like Google Voice and other services? I personally hope that we will move towards a better future where carriers will play nicer with each other, with other services, and with other emerging technologies. For example, wouldn’t it be great if when I was at home, my iPhone routed calls over my Wi-Fi connection instead of over the “crowded” network? It might alleviate some of AT&T’s service outages. Things like this are possible, but only in consumers wield their power and demand that carriers provide them.

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This week, Apple deviated from their usual biweekly update schedule and released yet another installment of the iPhone OS 3.0 beta. As of last week, the beta has been accompanied by an iTunes 8.2 pre-release build, and an updated version of that accompanies the beta firmware and the SDK. Aside from the single-week interval, the beta is also unusual in that it was released on a Wednesday night, instead of a Tuesday, when Apple has usually released new iterations in the past.

There are a few different reasons Apple might be stepping up the release schedule. First, WWDC is coming up very soon, and they might be speeding up the development schedule in order to get a stable product out the door come early June. They might also have picked up on a nasty security vulnerability before anyone else did for once, and therefore a quick patch along with any bug fixes completed to date was required.

There’s a final reason for the early release, which seems to be best supported by the information available to date. It looks like Apple has tried to block MMS access entirely for Beta users by preventing people from being able to switch carrier .IPCC files via iTunes. With all earlier builds, it was possible to do a force restore to an edited version of the file, which users had managed to hack in order to enable tethering and MMS on their devices, which were not meant to be available to users until the full version of the OS is released. The update also hides MMS features in the iPhone’s GUI for U.S. users. The MMS functions have never been visible on my iPhone, which is Canadian.

Apple looks to have pushed out an early release specifically to stop users from fooling around with hacked .IPCC files, and given the odd timing of the release, probably at the insistence of AT&T and/or others of their carrier partners. It’s possible that the early iTunes build was introduced specifically to stop this, and that the first build either didn’t succeed or was introduced early just to allay suspicion as to its ultimate purpose. This also seems to indicated that the beta pool is large enough that unauthorized MMS and tethering usage was actually having a significant effect on carriers.

Either way, we’ll have to wait and see if developers come up with another workaround. If not, there’s only a month left before WWDC ’09, so users anxious to get MMS and tethering up and running won’t have long to wait.

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In the recent past, I’ve covered a couple of the different white-label solutions from third-party developers for carriers that offer the iPhone. These offerings are generally meant to correct some oversight on Apple’s part, or answer a perceived desire for some feature on the part of iPhone owners that Apple seems unwilling to offer itself.

For example, there was Mobispine’s MMS workaround, and more recently, JAJAH, which wanted to turn your iPod touch into an iPhone. In both cases, the companies involved weren’t selling individual apps, but rather the chance for interested corporate clients to license their solution, rebrand it, and offer it for sale to individual customers via the App Store.

So far, their hasn’t exactly been a rush of interest from their target market, which is exclusive carriers who offer the iPhone for Mobispine, and primarily that same or similar service providers for JAJAH. So what gives? People seem to want this, judging by the response to Mobispine’s blog post alone, and the frequency with which less complete and effective third-party MMS solutions pop up in the App Store. And if I could use my iPod touch as a WiFi-connected home phone inexpensively, I’d gladly replace my landline. But these companies aren’t selling to consumers. They’re selling to carriers, and therein lies the problem.

What benefit, from an iPhone carrier’s point of view, does offering any of these white-label services bring with it? Even going beyond the examples mentioned above, imagine if there was a white-label, background push notification service available to carriers. It’s something every iPhone user would love to have, but for a cellular company, it represents an unnecessary, low-return risk at best. It all goes back to the old maxim, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” iPhone sales are strong, so why would a carrier incur extra cost or the risk of having the app rejected to (possibly) boost sales that need no boosting?

Sadly, Mobispine and others are barking up the wrong tree when they try to sell their services to people who can make money with or without them. There is money to be made with white-label and turn-key solutions for the iPhone and iPod touch, but you have to go after those who don’t yet have access to the money that’s swirling around in that new ecosystem, and badly want in. The music, TV, and movie industries, for instance, have shown themselves quite eager to grab a piece of the iPie.

As for us, we’d better stop holding our breath for our carriers to come in and save us from cruel, withholding Apple. And why would they, when we’ll buy the phone regardless? Sure, we grumble a bit as well, but plugging your ears against grumbling is a lot cheaper than doing something to silence it altogether.

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The iPhone’s lack of any MMS capabilities was said to be on account of the versatile and full featured email support. If it’s so simple to send photos via email, why pay extra to send them via MMS?

While that is a valid argument to a certain extent, the two services remain predominantly different; e-mail is unlikely to be picked up by a regular phone user ‘on the go’ and isn’t tailored in the same manner for quickly sending and receiving photo snapshots.

Enter iPhoneMMS. This service is currently a web application for the iPhone allowing you to access and send O2 media messages through a more appealing interface. For the last few days I have been using a preview of the latest edition, a native iPhone application which has recently launched.

The app allows you to send and receive MMS messages in a far more user-friendly way than through the O2 website. It brings MMS functionality closer to a real, integrated solution.

International Support

For sending messages, international support is planned and under development. Unfortunately, the ability to receive messages relies on support from the network operator in question and no other international network offers the same functionality as O2 at this stage. Depending upon the success of the app in the UK, the developers may seek the assistance of AT&T to extend support to the U.S.

Setting Up

Once installed, you’ll see the red iPhoneMMS icon in your iPhone menu. I was pleasantly surprised to see the similar design to existing Phone and Text icons — albeit in a brighter red color. It makes the app feel like an official edition to support MMS sending and receiving.

To set your phone up to access your messages through the app, you need to receive a MMS and note the PIN code provided to you by O2. You then enter your mobile number and that PIN into the application to access your account.

Receiving Messages

When you receive an MMS, a notification is usually provided in the form of a text message from your network operator. You can open the iPhoneMMS application, login, and browse all previously received messages.

Sending Messages

Sending a new message is very similar to composing an email. You enter a telephone number, subject line and can take a new photo or attach an existing one.

Costs & Pricing

The iPhoneMMS app is free through the App Store and there are no recurring costs — you pay only for the messages you use. At present, each message costs one credit. You receive one credit for free when registering, after which they can be purchased via PayPal in blocks of 10 or more. They are priced at around £0.35 each.

Plans are in place to lower this price in the future through discussion with the MMS team at O2. An agreement with the network operator could lead to:

• Instant notification of MMS (no need to use your mobile number / pin to login)
• Sending messages will be charged by O2 through your standard bill
• Messages will be charged at the normal O2 rates

I feel that this would go a long way towards making the app more useful, encouraging casual users to dabble in sending media messages rather than those who are happy to pre-pay with a credit system.

iPhoneMMS is currently freely available through the UK iTunes App Store. I’m interested to see that the app has been readily accepted — I imagine its submission to the App Store sparked a debate at Apple surrounding plans to support or endorse this feature in the native iPhone software itself.

Who’s Behind the App?

This service is entirely owned and operated by two private individuals:

• Ross McKillop: A web developer and consultant who became frustrated at the lack of MMS on the iPhone (and others asking about it!) so decided to do something about it.
• Ed Lea: A talented iPhone developer behind many other excellent apps on the AppStore including TV Plus, which held the #1 spot in the Top 50 Apps for a number of weeks.

Conclusion

This app seems to be a great start for supporting MMS on the iPhone. I’m aware that UK-only support is limiting for many readers of TheAppleBlog, but the system provides a concept which could be expanded to the U.S. — either by the existing developers, or a different team based in America.

There’s still some way for the app to go before being fully integrated into your O2 bill and providing seamless MMS support. Initial impressions are good, however and it will certainly be worth investigating if you’re based in, or frequently travel to, the UK.

What are your thoughts on MMS support? Is it a service which you miss the support for on the iPhone, or have you adjusted to life without it just fine? I’d be interested to hear how many of you would welcome an app such as this.

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Multimedia messaging (MMS) is within reach for iPhone users, or at least that’s what Mobispine AB is saying via press release today.

The Stockholm-based mobile services company currently provides white lable RSS reader and Desktop SMS and MMS solutions to companies looking to get their own branded mobile service. Today they announced that they are now offering yet another brandable service: MMS capability for the Apple iPhone.

The lack of MMS has long been one of the most glaring omissions in the iPhone’s feature set, and is available on much less advanced handsets from all major manufacturers. Third-party applications like Flutter have attempted to bring workaround solutions to the platform, but to limited success and with awkward restrictions on how messages are sent and received.

Mobispine’s solution is targeted at providers, not individual consumers. Essentially, it would add backend support for sending and receiving MMS from a carrier-branded MMS interface. This conveniently avoids the need for Apple buy-in, since individual operators would be the ones making the decision as to whether or not they will offer the service.

Apple still needs to OK the service implementation through the App Store approval process, however, since it would operate through a custom-branded native iPhone app. On the end-user side, iPhone owners will be able to create MMS messages from within the application, and attach photos saved to the iPhone’s hard drive, or new pictures taken with the iPhone’s camera. MMS messages will also be received via the Mobispine app, not in the iPhone’s built in SMS application. According to the press release, MMS messaging to and from all capable handsets will be possible, so non-iPhone users will not require any special software or have to visit any external links.

Since the decision to pursue the service is up to operators, it’ll be interesting to see who bites. Likely candidates are markets where more than one provider offers the iPhone, or where existing sales numbers indicate that the market appears saturated, and to get more customers requires offering some perceived value-add to justify an iPhone purchase. There’s also a possibility that carriers could charge for the additional service.

iPhone users: Is MMS important to you? Would you like to see your carrier implement this solution, or would you rather wait for an official Apple MMS service, if one comes at all? Would you pay for the MMS service if your carrier decides to charge a fee?

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