4 ms·

Sure, you can argue that iMessages is limited due to the iOS requirement. That isn't a small weakness - that's a killer. A replacement that isn't device indepe

by shib71 15y ago

Sure, you can argue that iMessages is limited due to the iOS requirement. That isn't a small weakness - that's a killer. A replacement that isn't device independent isn't a replacement.

smiler 15y ago
Exactly. Also what is wrong with SMS? In the UK, and I'm sure most of Europe, you can get plans with hundreds, thousands or unlimited number of SMS - can you get the same in US? SMS is essentially free anyway. Secondly, and I raised this again - data is not cheap when roaming and that's probably when I most use SMS.
- jonknee 15y ago
  AT&T charges $20 a month for unlimited texting. That's $240 a year. In the two years of your contract, $480. Free texting would "pay" for the iPhone twice over.
  - DigitalBoB12 15y ago
    I have unlimited in my Sprint plan and I pay $55 month with 4G service on my Evo.
    - jonknee 15y ago
      It looks Sprint charges around $10 a month for unlimited messaging (the basic plans are $10 cheaper than the basic + unlimited messaging). Though you can also add unlimited messaging to a basic plan for $20... Odd.
danilocampos 15y ago
That really depends. Everyone I SMS right now has an iPhone. So, for my purposes it isn't limited at all. And since it's free, the iOS requirement doesn't hurt me as a user anyway. The moment this switches on, 99% of my texting stops costing me money. A network of 200 million users isn't a bad starting point.
- argarg 15y ago
  | Everyone I SMS right now has an iPhone. This is very funny. Is your last name Jobs?
  - danilocampos 15y ago
    No, it's Campos. Nice to meet you. You can handicap my remark by observing I live in the Bay Area, but even my parents have iPhones, entirely of their own volition. Haters gonna hate, but Steve just saved me a bunch of money, completely transparently. While pissing off a bunch of incompetent, exploitative carriers. I'm pretty pleased.
    - argarg 15y ago
      I'm not hating, I just think it's weird that everyone you know have iPhones, when Android devices are outselling iPhones 2:1 and have now a bigger market share than iOS. Yet it's still possible. I'm just impressed.
      - danilocampos 15y ago
        I'd read that again. Everyone I text has iPhones. With a possible exception every couple months. I don't live in IPhone Bubble but I certainly communicate inside of one. That doesn't strike me as terribly unusual. And even if it were only half, I'm still saving money since I don't have to change my habits. Pretty good deal. If you're not a carrier.
        nmcfarl 15y ago
        I have to say this is an important distinction. Nearly everyone I /text/ has an iPhone, because they are the ones that text back. The exceptions are both Blackberry users. All of my dumb-phone friends (and my single Android friend), will just call me back if I text them, so I might as well dial them in the first place.
seanalltogether 15y ago
I agree, and it's tough because someone needs to be the middleman in all this when it comes to messaging, because with messaging there is a guarantee of delivery even if the other party isn't online. It doesn't mean that Apple, MS, Google, RIM can't all be a middleman for their respective users, but they certainly didn't mention that in the keynote.
jhowell 15y ago
One of the nice things about SMS is their reliability. Not having to think about whether or not your message arrived because of a friends device is nice. Maybe a fallback feature would be nice here?
- mentat 15y ago
  Except that SMS is not guaranteed and becomes less likely between carriers. "Message delivery is "best effort", so there are no guarantees that a message will actually be delivered to its recipient, but delay or complete loss of a message is uncommon." [1] 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS
bergie 15y ago
The other problem is that iMessages will require data connection. When you're roaming abroad, SMS is pretty much the only affordable solution. Especially as you cannot easily restrict the data connection to only one app, and so you'll easily end up with some interesting surprises in your phone bill.
- 2muchcoffeeman 15y ago
  No, you get a local prepaid SIM with data or use WiFi hotspots.
  - bergie 15y ago
    Open WiFi hotspots are a disappearing species. Local prepaid SIM is a good option, but requires you to: a) have the time to find and acquire one b) not receive calls or SMS to your regular number when in use (unless you have a dual SIM device)

by shib71 15y ago

Sure, you can argue that iMessages is limited due to the iOS requirement. That isn't a small weakness - that's a killer. A replacement that isn't device independent isn't a replacement.

smiler 15y ago

Exactly. Also what is wrong with SMS? In the UK, and I'm sure most of Europe, you can get plans with hundreds, thousands or unlimited number of SMS - can you get the same in US? SMS is essentially free anyway. Secondly, and I raised this again - data is not cheap when roaming and that's probably when I most use SMS.

jonknee 15y ago
AT&T charges $20 a month for unlimited texting. That's $240 a year. In the two years of your contract, $480. Free texting would "pay" for the iPhone twice over.
- DigitalBoB12 15y ago
  I have unlimited in my Sprint plan and I pay $55 month with 4G service on my Evo.
  - jonknee 15y ago
    It looks Sprint charges around $10 a month for unlimited messaging (the basic plans are $10 cheaper than the basic + unlimited messaging). Though you can also add unlimited messaging to a basic plan for $20... Odd.

danilocampos 15y ago

That really depends. Everyone I SMS right now has an iPhone. So, for my purposes it isn't limited at all. And since it's free, the iOS requirement doesn't hurt me as a user anyway. The moment this switches on, 99% of my texting stops costing me money. A network of 200 million users isn't a bad starting point.

argarg 15y ago
| Everyone I SMS right now has an iPhone. This is very funny. Is your last name Jobs?
- danilocampos 15y ago
  No, it's Campos. Nice to meet you. You can handicap my remark by observing I live in the Bay Area, but even my parents have iPhones, entirely of their own volition. Haters gonna hate, but Steve just saved me a bunch of money, completely transparently. While pissing off a bunch of incompetent, exploitative carriers. I'm pretty pleased.
  - argarg 15y ago
    I'm not hating, I just think it's weird that everyone you know have iPhones, when Android devices are outselling iPhones 2:1 and have now a bigger market share than iOS. Yet it's still possible. I'm just impressed.
    - danilocampos 15y ago
      I'd read that again. Everyone I text has iPhones. With a possible exception every couple months. I don't live in IPhone Bubble but I certainly communicate inside of one. That doesn't strike me as terribly unusual. And even if it were only half, I'm still saving money since I don't have to change my habits. Pretty good deal. If you're not a carrier.
      - nmcfarl 15y ago
        I have to say this is an important distinction. Nearly everyone I /text/ has an iPhone, because they are the ones that text back. The exceptions are both Blackberry users. All of my dumb-phone friends (and my single Android friend), will just call me back if I text them, so I might as well dial them in the first place.

seanalltogether 15y ago

I agree, and it's tough because someone needs to be the middleman in all this when it comes to messaging, because with messaging there is a guarantee of delivery even if the other party isn't online. It doesn't mean that Apple, MS, Google, RIM can't all be a middleman for their respective users, but they certainly didn't mention that in the keynote.

jhowell 15y ago

One of the nice things about SMS is their reliability. Not having to think about whether or not your message arrived because of a friends device is nice. Maybe a fallback feature would be nice here?

mentat 15y ago
Except that SMS is not guaranteed and becomes less likely between carriers. "Message delivery is "best effort", so there are no guarantees that a message will actually be delivered to its recipient, but delay or complete loss of a message is uncommon." [1] 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS

bergie 15y ago

The other problem is that iMessages will require data connection. When you're roaming abroad, SMS is pretty much the only affordable solution. Especially as you cannot easily restrict the data connection to only one app, and so you'll easily end up with some interesting surprises in your phone bill.

2muchcoffeeman 15y ago
No, you get a local prepaid SIM with data or use WiFi hotspots.
- bergie 15y ago
  Open WiFi hotspots are a disappearing species. Local prepaid SIM is a good option, but requires you to: a) have the time to find and acquire one b) not receive calls or SMS to your regular number when in use (unless you have a dual SIM device)