PodcastsGallery iPhone Matters
search


Simple Hack To Get MMS On The iPhone Using Mail

Posted January 2, 2008 4:00 AM by Tanner Godarzi
Categories: Features Hacks Hacks Tutorials 

A feature sorely lacking from the iPhone’s messaging Application is MMS (Multimedia Messaging System) support which even the most basic of bargain bin phones have. For the time being we are forced to rely on 3rd party Apps such as iSMS, a total overhaul to the default SMS Application. Another alternative lies in Apple’s Mail Application

The premise of MMS is being able to send Media to another handheld device such as music, short video clips or pictures. The iPhone is only capable of doing pictures and music (through Erica Sadun’s SendSong utility)  sending since there is no native Application that allows video sending or a video camcorder. However, Mail can be used to send MMS messages alongside SMS. A little known hint, Cellular Carriers allow a cellular number to formatted as an email address (otherwise known as a SMS gateway) with the setup being .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) but the domain name varies from provider. A comprehensive list of SMS gateways can be found at Wikipedia and Hip Tools.

Now on to the good stuff! Simply take a picture or load one up synced from your photo library and select “Email Photo” in the options menu. Put in a 10 digit number along with the appropriate SMS gateway and then hit send. You’ll want to be wary of sending large pictures since basic data plans only allow a few Megabytes of data per month, a snapshot taken on the iPhone rounds out to a few hundred kilobytes.

Permalink | Email This | Comments (7)

Comments

  1. Or, if it’s a US number, send it to xxxxxxxxxx@teleflip.com.

    Posted by Adam on January 2, 2008 5:48 AM

  2. Is there any additional charges (to recipient or sender) other than standard fees?

    Posted by Chris on January 2, 2008 9:09 AM

  3. Chris, as far as I know you’re sending it as an email so now charges should be applied to you unless you send it from a phone that has a data plan (terms vary). The recipient is receiving a text message so whatever his/her rates are, they apply.

    Posted by Tanner Godarzi on January 2, 2008 9:29 AM

  4. I bought my iphone about a week after it’s release.  The fact that they STILL have not released an update to enable MMS is rediculous.  If I had known it was going to take this long for such a basic, basic app that almost all other phones have I would not have gotten the iphone.  It is embarrasing when someone sends you a picture message on a phone they got for free and you tell them you can’t view it.  They invaribly say, “I thought you had an Iphone” and you have to tell them you do but it doesn’t get picture messages.  You then look like an idiot having spent $400-600 on a phone that can’t do basic things.  I could almost live with it if Jobs would just clue us in to why they won’t enable MMS but they won’t even talk about it.  I ask you Mr. Jobs, what good is a phone that can do all kinds of advanced things if it can’t do anything basic???  I’ll never buy a new product from Apple again.  They can’t be trusted.

    Posted by Andy on January 15, 2008 1:33 PM

  5. Andy,

    Have you thought about the fact that Apple is very innovative and is probably holding out because they might be revolutionizing MMS messaging as we know it right now?  I agree that it has been a considerably long time.  I myself, have had my iPhone since day one, June 2007 and it is now February 2008.  I just think that Apple is going to surprise us all with how they will implement and enable MMS on the iPhone.

    Posted by Brandon on February 29, 2008 1:03 PM

  6. One of my coworkers hacked his iPhone and uses it with T-Mobile.  He claims he can download pictures to his phone.  I still can’t do it with my unhacked iPhone.

    I think anyone thinking apple is going to revolutionize anything is putting way too much faith in their company.  I’ve been using Mac for over 15 years now.

    Posted by Steve on March 19, 2008 12:18 AM

  7. I have an i phone and dont know how to forward a text message

    Posted by Ms. I on April 10, 2008 7:59 AM

Submit Comments

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Forums | About | Contact | Press | Privacy

©2007 sterndesign, LLC. All rights reserved. All trademarks and copyrights remain the property of their respective owners. Proudly powered by ExpressionEngine. Dedicated hosting by pMachine Hosting