Tag Archives: at&t

iPhone and AT&T MMS How-To

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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?

AT&T Exclusive iPhone Carrier In US Until 2010

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Were you holding out hope that T-Mobile would soon be able to offer the iPhone to its U.S. customers? I wouldn’t hold your breath for that wish. Nestled in a recent article by USA Today about AT&T was this little nugget of information:

“In exchange for its payout, AT&T got a year extension, into 2010, on its exclusive distribution deal with Apple, people familiar with the matter say.”

If you’re located in the United States, AT&T is your only choice for the iPhone until at least 2010. There is probably no contractual reason the exclusivity couldn’t be extended down the road either. If you’re AT&T and the revenue from iPhone customers is nearly double your average cell phone user, wouldn’t you want to protect those customers?

Is Exchange Support Coming For iPhone?

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Is the largest business email server and iPhone finally ready to play nice? According to Ars Technica, Apple sent out invitations to a press event on March 6th. Included in the invitation is a short statement about the event subject matter. “Please join us to learn about the iPhone software roadmap, including the iPhone SDK and some exciting new enterprise features.”

“New enterprise features”: Perhaps the one and only thing enterprises cares about when it comes to a phone, besides making calls, is email. Anything less than Exchange push (ActiveSync?) will be a huge disappointment. It was only a few months ago that Apple was hiring an iPhone/Exchange QA engineer. Could the iPhone finally be on even footing with corporate purchasers?

The support for push email from Exchange servers is the single largest hurdle to getting the iPhone into the hands of corporate users. Supporting push email from Exchange would finally allow the iPhone to enter the conversations when corporations talk about mobile devices. Currently the iPhone hasn’t even pulled up to the table, much less entered the conversation. With corporations come big budgets and that means more money for Apple and AT&T. I REALLY hope they announce Exchange support at this meeting. I’ll be asking my work to set me up the next day if they do!

The Untold Story Of The iPhone

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I’m a little late on this story, but if you haven’t read it yet I do highly suggest it. Wired Magazine has a great story on the creation of the iPhone with behind the scene information from those that were there.

The article talks about the motivation for creating a cell phone and the debacle that was the Motorola ROKR. The author, Fred Vogelstein, goes into detail about the meetings with the wireless carriers and who rebuked Steve Jobs iPhone pitch (Verizon). Given that Verizon cripples their phones to begin with, it’s certainly not surprising they didn’t want to give Jobs that much control. So what juicy details are in the article? We’ll, there’s a gold mine of information in the article but I’ll give you a nugget here. One Apple insider estimates Apple spent roughly $150 million building the iPhone. The article is probably the best article I’ve read on the iPhone yet. What are you waiting for? Head on over to Wired and read the article now!

3G iPhone Set For 2008 Release

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One of the biggest complains about the iPhone is that it doesn’t run on the 3G network. El Steve has said more than once that the main reason was battery life. The 3G radio is such a battery hog that it brought down the battery life to an unacceptable level.

According to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, battery life must be improving in 2008. This Bloomberg report cites Randall Stephenson saying “You’ll have it next year”, in reference to a question about when a 3G iPhone would emerge from the depths of a Cupertino secret lab. He also said he didn’t know how much the 3G version would cost.

In September Steve Jobs said “Hopefully we’ll see that late next year”, in reference to a 3G iPhone. The Jobs quote was not as definite as this recent quote by Randall Stephenson. Though a 3G iPhone appears to be coming down the pipe, no word on exactly when in 2008 it will ship. Knowing typical Apple dates, I’m betting for a December 30th, 2008 shipping date.