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iPhone Atlas

June 15, 2009 8:32 AM PDT

AT&T to offer free MMS with text-messaging plans

by David Martin

According to AT&T's latest iPhone 3G S FAQ (PDF), the company will offer MMS messages free with a text-messaging plan at some point later this summer. Until now, some current customers have feared having to pay an additional fee for texting. Considering all the negative feedback about iPhone 3G to 3G S upgrades, this is probably a strategic decision on AT&T's part.

Why all the fuss about MMS, especially given that you can replicate the functionality of MMS using e-mail much more easily on a smartphone? Even if e-mail is easy for you, your friends without a smartphone have only MMS for photos and videos between phones. AT&T's support of MMS to the iPhone bridges this gap.

(Credit: AT&T)

Topics:: News

Tags:: iPhone,; Apple,; AT&T,; MMS,; 3G S

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Add a Comment (Log in or register) Showing 1 of 2 pages (31 Comments)

by Jatajo22 June 15, 2009 9:51 AM PDT

Not exactly "free". Already paying for a package that includes MMS on ANY other phone. Still glad to hear Att isnt trying anything funny. NO way I would pay for MMS in addition to a SMS package price.

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by isv9001 June 15, 2009 12:49 PM PDT: What I want to know is this? If I decide to not wait for an upgrade and purchase the phone at "full price", will they then unlock the phone for me...seems only fair, huh?

by DarkHawke June 15, 2009 9:53 AM PDT

If the new Death Star REALLY wants some customer goodwill, fold SMS/MMS into the data plan, so the monthly cost is competitive with Sprint. If they want a FLOCK of customers jumping over, offer iPhone tethering gratis. I know, in a pig's eye it'll happen. I'm just sayin'.

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by yurma June 15, 2009 9:55 AM PDT: agreed. that's what i was hoping. does anyone have worse price structuring for smart phones than at&t at the moment?


by renGek June 15, 2009 12:40 PM PDT: that will never happen. providers are making huge amount of money over text messages and its basically no cost to them. Its like someone figuring out a way to make you pay for the air you breath.


by Jatajo22 June 15, 2009 10:10 AM PDT: +1; Reply to this comment


by 1kingsfan June 15, 2009 10:21 AM PDT: Well at least they aren't charging me any more than I know they already are - my BB curve is on her last legs so I'm going to have to get a new phone - one less thing to worry about when I get an i-phone later this summer; Reply to this comment


by BeatleMegaFan June 15, 2009 11:39 AM PDT: Considering that I already use an unlimited text messaging plan for my iPhone, this is just what I needed to hear. I don't want to have to email any pictures I take on my iPhone one at a time to avoid paying MMS fees. If those costs are to be integrated into the SMS plans, then I can just pick up these features and just work as usual. Now once AT&T decides to allow iPhone users to tether to their computer free of charge, I'll be very pleased. I could see myself using tethering quite frequently in many different places where I would bring my MacBook with me. Considering that any free WiFi connection usually has strings attached and/or isn't secure, I'd prefer to use my "unlimited" 3G data plan that I supposedly have. 3G isn't the more secure connection either, but it limits the local users down from dozens to one, right?

AT&T needs to be careful here. Many Apple customers have high expectations of Apple products, and when AT&T is a part of those products and services, they have to live up to some of those "requirements". Now the pricing of 3GS upgrades is understandable, as AT&T is following their own upgrade rules as they would for any phone. Everyone has to pay their subsidies, be it upfront or over the course of a contract. But the MMS and tethering points are crucial here. This was a good choice in relations to MMS, but we don't know what they will do with tethering. They could either please or provoke many users. If tethering becomes included, more people will become even more pressured to switch over, which could bring more profits to AT&T in the short term. Not too bad for them.

And if they claim that they're taking their time because of network overload, shouldn't AT&T be able to upgrade their network through software updates? From what I've heard, that's part of their plan, so I don't know why it takes them so long... they should start now. Get to work on those towers. Make that new radio in the 3GS worth something today, not months from now. Anyway, that's my spiel on the whole AT&T issue.

-BMF; Reply to this comment


by phrint June 15, 2009 12:01 PM PDT: I was not worried that AT&T was going to charge more for MMS. I simply threatened that if they did I would walk away from them in a heartbeat. You can't add such a common feature and then charge customers for it. AT&T is already blowing the iPhone experience for its customers and Apple is bound to go to another carrier in 2010. The iPhone is capable of doing so much more but AT&T is retarding its potential with poor systems and structure.

I can't blame AT&T for not offering the subsidized 3G S to its existing 3G customers but it is a pretty bad move. Nothing will alienate the current base of iPhone users more rapidly than that decision. I am not eligible to upgrade until late 2010 so I will go to another carrier (i.e. Verizon) if AT&T loses exclusivity. If not, then I am sure the Pre will be much better by then so I will leave AT&T anyway.; Reply to this comment

by dribnif June 15, 2009 12:58 PM PDT

I have never, ever heard one single person say "I love at&t.".

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by jegillis June 17, 2009 2:50 AM PDT: I Love AT&T


by fc528e June 15, 2009 1:16 PM PDT: I have free MMS with every phone I've had with At&t as unlimited texting plans include MMS at no cost for the extra data transfer. I've had an HTC Tilt, Sony Ericsson W580i, Nokia E71x, and now a Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic (all of which have been quite amazing). So sad the Iphone incurs extra costs... ha. Such a waste of money, especially with the exploited data plan costs.; Reply to this comment


by fc528e June 15, 2009 1:18 PM PDT: P.S. I l-o-v-e At&t, especially being able to witness them rape so many Iphone users; Reply to this comment


by lawgone June 15, 2009 2:37 PM PDT: I still think it sucks how much they charge for text messages when you are already paying $30 for "unlimited data." Isn't a text message essentially data that you send and receive???; Reply to this comment

by chris2184 June 15, 2009 2:46 PM PDT

Why do People complain about At&t so much? verizon phones and service sucks, i know people who have had over 20 phones in one year because their phones suck. and at&t always has more service then verizon. i have an iphone 3g and never lose service, very fast, and no other phone can even compete with it.

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by darkpoet25 June 15, 2009 6:37 PM PDT: The service for any carrier will vary depending on where you are. I've never had any problems from AT&T at all, but here in Indianapolis Sprint coverage is somewhat spotty. I've had dropped signals and calls inside of where i work, but with AT&T I haven't had that problem, same with T-Mobile. Can't really speak out about Verizon as I have never used them as a carrier. So you may get great service from AT&T where you are, like I do but not everyone does. It's all a matter of what a person is willing to pay a month, and if that carrier has a device that suits their needs.


by aluzero June 15, 2009 3:25 PM PDT: whoopdi doooo...........82 dollars a month + tax if you simply want iphone regular plan + 200 text messages + nights and weekend starting at 7 p.m. Look at Sprint....same thing + unlimited messages for 70 dollars a month + tax....and Sprint doesn't use double standards such as AT&T excuse of using an employee discount or anything else because it's the IPHONE. AT&T wants to make it seem like the company is going out of the way, but in reality they need to stop treating the Iphone as so different from the other smart phone plans.; Reply to this comment


by teamster02 June 15, 2009 7:28 PM PDT: This is not news. MMS messages, text messages, and (small) video messages all count as 1 message anyway. They are not giving you anything for free. You buy a plan, and can send any kind of messages you want.; Reply to this comment


by only_truth June 15, 2009 8:29 PM PDT: I'm a little confused about something. I think ATT can do whatever it wants and Apple is kind of screwed. The chance that Apple makes a CDMA version of the iPhone is very slim, so that takes care of Verizon and Sprint getting a shot at it. Who are customers going to sign with? T-Mobile? They don't have a data network at all! Didn't they JUST start rolling out 3G? There's no way a network like that is going to attract real smartphone users. Anyone who buys an iPhone 3G (S) in an area without 3G coverage is just stupid in my book.; Reply to this comment

by dahood June 16, 2009 6:38 AM PDT

Verizon is worse then AT & T. At least, AT &T will make amends by offering some kind of credit if they can't initially fix a problem. I was with Verizon for 8 years and their customer service just sucked. When AT & T had problems with their data network with the original iPhone, their customer service would credit my bill. With verizon if you had a problem, they would do nothing. You need to realize there is not one company out there that will make you happy. At least AT & T will try something.

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by lavern June 16, 2009 6:57 AM PDT: well I guess since you are one of millions of customers who had a problem it must be true

by 1kingsfan June 16, 2009 10:47 AM PDT

I've never had an issue with ATT. Recently I was having issues with my Curve - no questions asked they called the service center and my replacement was on my door-step the next day. I think, in part, the negative comments come from people expecting something out of the ordinary ie : dropping your phone in water and expecting a brand new replacement IN STORE. . .anything less and someone immediately says "they suck". I'm sure it also has something to do with the fact that I don't threaten to leave ATT if something small goes wrong. I've been with them for ages, they know it, I know it, and they always try to make amends if something goes wrong.

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by bc0001 June 23, 2009 10:33 AM PDT: I have had nothing but issues with ATT... signal coverage on the east coast is worse than when it was Cingular for some reason. I bought ATT because GSM gave me a phone in the travels overseas I do. The bad service, poor signal quality far offset that benefit. Most recently upgraded to Bold, and have now replaced the phone FIVE times in six months - dropping calls repeatedly, email not reconciling. I think RIM is making a cheaper phone these days. My 8800 was terrific! FIVE replacement phones in the first six months - and they couldn't switch me to a comparable phone - if I moved away from the Bold, they wanted to put me in something that came out a year ago, and didn't offer wi-fi. These companies are treating consumers lousy. I look forward to the day when ATT wants taxpayer help.


by carguy622 June 16, 2009 1:45 PM PDT: They currently include MMS in other phone text messaging plans. I should hope they would do same with the iPhone, but the way they have been acting lately...

As an aside, I have AT&T with a Nokia and have a $5/200 Messages plans that included MMS messages in that number. A couple of years ago they changed that and starting charging extra for the MMS messages, so I cancelled my messaging out of principal. A few months later they changed their tune again and I added it back. They are very arbitrary. They didn't even notify me of the change.; Reply to this comment


by AppleSuxLeo June 16, 2009 1:47 PM PDT: NEW YORK (AP) - Palm's shares hit a new year high Tuesday after an analyst said its new Pre smart phone is selling better than he had expected, and its operating system is the wireless sector's "most attractive asset."

Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette raised his per-share estimate and price target on the handset maker.

In a note to investors Tuesday, Faucette estimated that between 90,000 and 100,000 units were sold in the Pre's first week on sale, and he believes there is a waiting list 30 names long at each store. The highly anticipated Pre launched on June 6.

Palm is on track to ship more than his prior estimate of 500,000 Pre phones in the three months ending August 31, Faucette said.; Reply to this comment


by Miko34 June 16, 2009 4:09 PM PDT: TEXTING and MMS is ALL DATA ... AND SHOULD BE ALL INCLUDED ON A DATA PLAN.

Why are you charging us twice or three times for the same damn internet ???!!!; Reply to this comment


by rbowrbow June 16, 2009 6:31 PM PDT: Well I should hope FREAKING so!!!!; Reply to this comment

Showing 1 of 2 pages (31 Comments)

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