MMS

Boost customers suffer text message delays

It looks like Boost Mobile's new $50 unlimited calling plan has become a victim of its own success.

Customers using the prepaid wireless service, which is owned by Sprint Nextel, say that they've experienced delays in receiving text messages. The problem was first reported by the Associated Press. A Boost representative acknowledged that since March, some customers have experienced text delays that have lasted anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.

"We've already diagnosed and isolated the problem," said John Votava, Boost's spokesman. "And we've been working day and night … Read more

Quasi-MMS Solutions for the iPhone Appear

More than two years after the original iPhone's announcement, and the lack of MMS (multimedia messaging) support still constitutes the most lamented feature deart--aside from, perhaps, copy and paste--on the device. An application for full-blown MMS exchange is available for jailbroken phones, and many users have resorted to emailing messages, but most users still pine for a native MMS application that would allow sending and receiving of images to and from other capable phones.

Two fairly new applications in the App Store, offer semi-solutions.

Fetch MMS allows users to send MMS to cell phone numbers, receive replies to MMS … Read more

'Tis the season to Crave: Matt Hickey's picks

Editor's note: From now through the end of December, various Crave contributors will be sharing their top five (mostly) tech-related wishes for the holiday season. Here's the latest in the series.

Even though I'm a "Bah, Humbug" kind of guy, I like the idea of coming up with five things I want as holiday presents from the technology world.

I could have picked five gadgets. Instead--in the interest of goodwill to all mankind--I've decided to pick personal-technology intangibles that I believe should be changed. I've selected things that would be simple to do, and hopefully the various powers that be will see this list and work with Santa to consider my ideas. I am, after all, a professional.

1. Zune client for OS X. There's nothing Apple's doing to prevent this; it's all Redmond. The Zune is a fantastic media player and is in many ways superior to the iPod. But, as a Mac user (sorry, I cannot with a straight face run Windows at home) I'm out in the cold.

Microsoft has made some great software for OS X (Office for Mac is still better than Office for Windows), so it's not a lack of talent. I'm really not sure what it is. You'd think this would be something Microsoft would do out of spite. Mac users using Zunes would give MS' consumer arm a boost out of irony and spite.

2. Adobe Flash and MMS capability for iPhone. Maybe it's some deal with YouTube. Maybe it's closed-mindedness on Apple's side. I don't care, I want Flash support integrated within the iPhone's version of Safari. There are too many online tools, games, and apps that use Flash to leave it out. To make the iPhone really capable of replacing a laptop for daily use it needs to have all the same capabilities, and that means being able to use these tools via Flash.

And really, why don't we have MMS yet? Apple? AT&T? Phones that are free have it. Windows Mobile phones have it. It's one of the things keeping the iPhone from being a perfect device. Work on it. … Read more

The closest thing to MMS on your iPhone

Until iPhone gets its own ability to send multimedia messages to your buddies, you'll be well served by Quip. This dead-simple, straightforward, and inexpensive iPhone app immediately triggers your iPhone's camera so you can take and send photos to contacts on the spot. Tap the tab and you'll move into library view, where selecting a photo to send a friend takes all of two clicks--after which the quick Quip opens your address book for another speedy selection.

You'll be able to preview the image and add a message by tapping ABC before sending it on its … Read more

MobiSpine plans 'white label' MMS application for iPhone

Wednesday's report that a Swedish wireless company was planning to add an MMS application to the iPhone now makes a little more sense.

That's because MobiSpine, another Swedish company, announced the availability of a "white label" MMS service for carriers to use on the iPhone. Telia, the iPhone's wireless carrier in Sweden, has said it plans to bring MMS capability to the iPhone in short order, but it wasn't clear how it was going to make that happen. Now they'll be able to use MobiSpine's application under their own brand, sort of … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 857: Dumber than a robot donkey

In today's show, we find out that the demise of humanity is imminent (or that all of our robot mythology is fundamentally rooted in self-hatred), the RIM BlackBerry Storm takes the world by drizzle, and Microsoft hopes that actually giving you songs will convince you to buy a Zune. Oh, and we don't care about Yahoo Glue. In case you were wondering.

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 857

RIM BlackBerry Storm arrives http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/rim-blackberry-storm-verizon/4505-6452_7-33311850.html

Meet the first multitouch consumer laptop: HP’s TouchSmart tx2 http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10102285-1.html… Read more

Swedish Carrier Reportedly Planning iPhone MMS App

Our sister site, News.com, reports that Telia, Apple's carrier partner in Sweden, is planning to develop its own MMS (multimedia messaging service) application for the iPhone, according to a report from MacWorld Sweden.

According to the report: "The lack of MMS is perhaps one of the most common gripes about the missing features of the iPhone, second only to cut and paste. But instead of adding that function itself, or allowing a third-party developer to build it for the App Store, Apple is apparently going to let Telia enable MMS on its own."

A number of … Read more

Report: Swedish carrier planning iPhone MMS app

Swedish iPhone users may soon have a way to send each other pictures and video via text messaging.

Telia, Apple's carrier partner in Sweden, is going to develop its own MMS (multimedia messaging service) application for the iPhone, according to a report from MacWorld Sweden. The lack of MMS is perhaps one of the most common gripes about the missing features of the iPhone, second only to cut and paste.

But instead of adding that function itself, or allowing a third-party developer to build it for the App Store, Apple is apparently going to let Telia enable MMS on … Read more

Somebody Else's Phone: Would you look through it?

(Credit: Somebody Else's Phone)

If you found somebody else's phone, would you look through it? That's a rhetorical question. Of course! Your phone is your life, at least if you're under 25, and there's nothing more interesting than the "lives of others."

The advertising firm Wieden + Kennedy London translated the idea of "cellular oversharing" into a much gushed-about ad campaign for Nokia. "Somebody Else's Phone" depicts the lives of three twentysomethings through their text messages, multimedia messaging service, and pictures, and it essentially creates a new story format: … Read more