The process to enable MMS is simple. Make sure iTunes is version 7.7 or later and that the iPhone is 3G or 3GS with iPhone OS 2.0 or later. Connect your iPhone to your computer and you will be prompted to update your carrier settings. If you are not prompted, choose your iPhone in iTunes, hit the “Summary” tab, and hit the “Check for Update” button. The update is quick and you will have to restart the iPhone.

After the update is installed, a camera icon will appear next to the text field in the Messages app.

iPhone users can send an MMS to any phones that have MMS enabled. MMS messages count against iPhone texting plans, so there will not be another fee to use this feature.

MMS sending has improved for me since launch day. Previously sending an MMS would stall and it would have to be resent a few times. I was not able to test a video MMS because I own a iPhone 3G.

The big reason why AT&T delayed the iPhone MMS launch is concerns about how their network would hold up. With the popularity of the iPhone, AT&T was concerned these users would bog things down. Other phones on the AT&T network have had MMS enabled for a long time, but iPhone users will theoretically be using MMS far more. iPhone users on other networks have been able to use MMS since day one.

Building a network is costly, but iPhone customers should not be treated like second-class citizens when they are trying to use their “unlimited data” plans. iPhone customers are paying high monthly bills and should not have to deal with this.

One more thing AT&T: where is tethering?

If you’re a new iPhone user, you may have missed the flurry of iPhone tips that were released when the iPhone originally launched in 2007. Here are the top 10 most usefully tips for the iPhone (with software version 2) in no particular order.

1) Period: Tapping the space bar quickly twice will put a period (.) and the proper spacing for the end of a sentence. This is much quicker than going to the .?123 keyboard and tapping the period key.

2) Quick Numbers and Punctuation: Holding the .?123 key will bring up the number and punctuation keyboard (among other symbols). While still holding the .?123 key, slide your finger to the key you want and release your finger. This action will choose the key you want and return you back to the QWERTY keyboard. If you just need one key on the .?123 keyboard, this tip will save you time.

3) CAPS Lock: Need to type in CAPS for some reason? First, you need to enable this functionality. Go into Settings | General | Keyboard | and slide “Enable Caps Lock” to On. When you want to type in caps, quickly double tap the Up arrow on your keyboard and it will turn the key blue. You’re now in CAPS LOCK. To turn it off, just tap the arrow key again.

4) Screen Shots: Want to capture a screen shot of what’s currently on your iPhone? Just hit the Home button and the Sleep/Wake button at the same time. The screen will flash and it will drop the screen shot into your Camera Roll album in the Photos app on the iPhone.

5) Long To/cc Headers: Do you often get emails with a long list of people in the To and CC fields? After opening one of these emails, tap the Hide link just to the right of the From field. This will hide all the other To and CC email addresses/names and skip right to the subject and the beginning of the email text. Just tap the Details link in the same location to show all the To and CC fields once again. Hiding the details prevents you from scrolling through a long list of recipients which is bothersome if the list is long.

6) Back To The Top: Need to go back to the top of a webpage, email, or a specific iPhone application? Tap the upper most bar (the one with the clock) once and watch the screen scroll back to the top.

7) .org, .net, or .edu: When typing in a web address in Safari, hold the .com button for a few seconds and a secondary menu will appear with the .net, .org, and .edu TLD’s.

8) Save Your Battery: If your battery is draining faster than you like, you might be able to do something about it. Here are a few ideas:

• Turn off Wi-Fi if you aren’t connected to an access point or none are near. Go to Settings | Wi-Fi, and slide “Wi-Fi” to off.
• Turn off the prompts to join Wi-Fi networks.  Go to Settings | Wi-Fi, and slide “Ask to Join Networks” to off.
• Turn off Bluetooth if you aren’t using it. Go to Settings | General | Bluetooth and slide to off.
• Turn off Push data. Go to Settings | Fetch New Data and slide “Push” to off
• Change your Fetch data settings to a less frequent interval. Go into Settings | Fetch New Data and change the frequency. I have mine set to manual.
• Change your brightness level. Go into Settings | Brightness and reduce the brightness level.
• If you have the iPhone 3G, you can turn off the 3G radio when you know you don’t have 3G coverage. Go to Settings | General | Network and slide “Enable 3G” to off.
• Turn off the GPS. Go to Settings | General and slide “Location Services” to off.

9. Change The Order Of Your Icons: Do you want to move the less frequently used applications to another part of your home screen? Just hold down any icon on your home screen for about 3 seconds and watch them jiggle. Now, just move the icon with your finger to any location. When you’re done rearranging your icons, click the home screen. You can even replace the four main application icons in the iPhone dock.

10. Customizable Home Button: You can program a double click of the home button to perform special functions. Go to Settings | General | Home Button. You have three options.

• Home – Goes to the home screen. Not sure why you would want this option when a single click does the same thing.
• Phone Favorites – Opens the Favorites Section in the phone application. This is very handy when you want to dial someone you call frequently.
• iPod – Opens the iPod application.

You’ll notice a slider that says “iPod Controls” on the same page. When this option is turned on and you’re playing music, a double click will bring up the iPod controls no matter what option you set above.

So there you have it, the 10 most useful tips for iPhone beginners. If you have other tips to share, put them in the comments below!