really, why no MMS?
 

not a troll or basher, i love my N900, but just having a hard time wrapping my brain around how such a basic feature could be omitted phone. i just dont get it. yeah i know its not 'a phone', yadda yadda.

fMMS is cool and all, i just with there was a way to keep my phone from constantly connecting to AT&T MMS, its annoying.

also with the having to manually switch to MMS connection to use it, i find myself never bothering

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

lol........ you did write this know that troll bashing would occur right? not because of the question, more because of lack of searching to find peoples opinions already :)

I would suggest sticking to the answer. MMS is not supported natively by the N900. End of story.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

Because the N900 is not a phone. It is a tablet that can ring.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

I think he's aware of that, the question is "why." However, that can only be answered by Nokia and I don't think it really matters at this point.

If I understand what he's saying, using MMS directly conflicts with standard data services (since you have to switch APNs) and since the primary goal of the device is mobile internet, MMS was considered not a priority. At least that's my guess.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

i guess it is a question for nokia, it just seems so odd that they would omit a basic feature like that. video calling i can understand. but mms has been in every smartphone for years now (apple doesnt count in my calculations)

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

i dont think so. i keep the idea that maemo can include mms libs. Maemo is a linux kernel ;) dont forget bout it. they can change the apn settings to connect and disconnect by the imputs. its not hard for them (nokia developers i mean) then they can include the features for the mms ;)

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

But still not natively supported... :D - can be bodged, but not in nokias targets/milestones/ or interest i feel.

:D

I suppose it is one of the many i wants, and they prioritized the device to what they think the "customer" type would want :D

as much as i admit it would be great, it for me, is not an essential :D (Again personal view)

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

Why no MMS: because MMS uses a completely different and increasingly out-dated connection system (WAP). It was decided that the n900 would not natively carry more than one apn - and that would be your GPRS/2-3G signal. Persuading n900 to create and connect to a separate apn was a chore in itself (it's no accident that's done with a separate programme before fMMS gets going). These days MMS is about the only thing which WAP is still used for, I think.

Nokia made a conscious decision not to bother, probably in order to focus on other things. When Frals stepped up to the plate they have supported him handsomely in making fMMS as the excellent solution that it is. And it's improving all the time.

If you are having problems with connecting to the wrong apn routinely, there's a fix for that. Try this.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

AFAIK, multiple active gprs connection is not supported by the linux kernel used for Maemo 5. Btw, much recent kernels support it.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

i dont see the issue in changing the access point when you send/receive an mms. it tekes me about 3.2 seconds lol

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

Well if you're like me and have persistent connections going (IRC, streaming audio) and suddenly your phone breaks all connections to fetch something sent using an obsolete protocol, it's annoying.

Thankfully no one sends me MMS messages (which only exist for cellphones,) preferring to post on Facebook or send them via e-mail.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

I don't understand why you care.
I sent maybe 2 MMSs in my entire life. (The first was a test, and the second one didn't arrive to my friend...)

So, I don't care about it on the N900.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

Why no MMS? I can tell you what a Nokia worker said to me when i asked him about this:
Its because the N900 should "talk" to developers and IT cracks, and not to the "normal user" thats why they wheren't interested in MMS and OVI Maps will also take more time, maybe it will never be released for the N900 for the same reason. Thats what he told me.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

Besides what Kathy said, there is also no way to integrate MMS within conversations, conversation seems like it's only capable of receiving and sending text.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

I'm not sure whether that's a "Can't be done" or a "Hasn't been done yet". You'd need to ask Frals. :)

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

It might be a basic feature of a phone, but really is it that widely used? In my life I've sent only one mms ever and received precisely zero.

These days why would I use it when it is so limited compared to other methods of sharing pictures or video?

I really for the life of me don't understand why people make such a big deal out of MMS. Maybe I'm sheltered and missing out on something big, but I just don't see the point and don't know anyone else who does.

I'd rather the time was spent on new technology rather than old.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

wait until youve stopped streaming etc, then fetch. i still dont see the issue

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

One reason i guess was that the ratio of usefulness to complexity of an MSS app was far worse than many other things that deserved improvement/implementation. Plus i think there aren't that many users who want MMS.

And because of limited resources they had to leave something out.

So the question would be why did they have or still have limited resources.

Well, time is limited and as a software developer myself i know that it doesn't always help to throw more money on the issue. Too many cooks spoil the broth, you know.

IMHO it was a very good decision. I don't use MMS for the high costs. I would feel betrayed. And you should too. Let me give you an example (based on SMS, but MMS is comarable in that matter).

Lets assume a price per SMS of 9ct (Euro).
And lets further assume a price of 25ct for 1Mb internet traffic.

Now an SMS contains 140bytes (160 7bit characters). One megabyte is
1024 * 1024 bytes = 1048510 bytes. That means you would have to send 7490 SMS to transfer 1Mb, which would cost you a whopping 674,10 Euros. Compared to 25ct on the internet. So SMS traffic is roughly 2.600 times more pricey than internet traffic.
Now how do you feel about that? Is it fair? Or are you pissed off?


Edit: The prices i took are the lowest i found in germany.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

Conversations is supposed to be IMish, right?

How about fMMS being integrated as a plugin for conversations? The same way picture sharing is integrated in most IM things.

I don't use MMS so it's not really a big deal

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

Exactly , MMS is failed technology ... because its not compatible with operators across , i.e. MMS from one provider can not be sent to different. You will get a web link to view that mms .

i left mms long time back .. lets say 3 years before .

push mail is the best alternative to mms. or social sharing. mms sum times can be useful .. but again has limitation over type of file and size , so its better to use social sharing site just like www.pixelpipe.com .

i am not against mms totally , but recently no any operators in India promoting mms via advertise , there might be less statistics or less revenue.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

here in the US, MMS is second to texting. people get at least 1 - 5 MMS's a week here.

I guess its just a matter of time before it stops mattering here.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

That is simply an issue with your networks.

We have 5 Major providers here and about half a dozen or so Virtual Providers. Sending MMS between networks was only ever an issue in its very early infancy and is a widely used feature (at leats in the uk) whether you use it or not its a handy and quick way to receive small pics particually ones taken on the phone when outside the 10m range for bluetooth.

Nokia haven't provided an e-mail Daemon on the phone so if you close the app by accident or forget to load it you dont get notifications (nice one Nokia). The E-Mail client also doesent have any options such as auto send and receive every 10 mins and other features such as prompting to resizing images down so your not sending a 5mp photo and wasting data when a VGA resize would surfice. As a replacement I cant even call the built in client a workable replacement.

Also most phones dont have an e-mail address assigned to them (or not one that's easy to "just use") where as their mobile number is always a good start.

fMMS is a nice concept however development on it seems to have dried up. Their are still a lot of issues to resolve such and problems with it. When I send a message 20 times out of 30 it says "FAILED" and sends anyway and receiving messages is always based on fluke. If these issues were resolved it would be a workable solution.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

Just keep in mind-- in a cloud, why send and resend megabytes of data? It's faster and more efficient to send lightweight hyperlinks to single-sourced data. Granted, we're not all the way there yet, but it's coming.

Adios, MMS.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

we all know mms is not going to be done by nokia and they are supporting fmms.

ever wonder WHY they cant just make and add this? i bet if they did they would have to put n900 into GSM phone barcket which usually means higher tax/fees for companies then maybe tablet.

I think microsoft did this with xbox1 called it a caming computer and you had to buy DVD remote to watch DVD, this meant that they did not have to pay the console tax and small percentage of the cost of DVD remote instead of the percantage of console price.

i find it funny that nokia/maemo staff never actaully said WHY they cannot but they wont/not needed.

any ways thats just my thought.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

I was sure the word was that the program didn't believe their target audience would miss it.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

i'm happy with fmms, as i hardly get mms but i would perfer not to connect manually..

well clearly allot of people would prefer to have all the basics of a phone on the n900. i think its more then they are letting on.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

Word! All I ever get anyway is stupid forwarded MMS messages or some nasty picture of a guy/girl that I never wanted to see to begin with.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

I am in the USA, and used MMs all the time with my n78 and n96. The n900 was kind of an abrupt end to that. Now I have to email it, or post it to flickr and send the link to someone. I liked having the option of sending it as an email OR mms on the symbian phones... in the same text box you could enter their phone number, first few letters of their name, or email address, and it would take care of it for you...

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

because i dont need it.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

u dont have to :) it does it by itself

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

I think it's more that conversations probably has no way to display images or play video. But having it launch the external player (e.g. images or media player app) could work.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

....it`s like telling me 'really, not a fax on a modern computer?'

for me MMS is dead, especially when todays phones are capable of emailing the pictures you want!....if I want to send something I send it through email and then an sms to notify the other party to check their email (everybody checks theyr emails at least once a day, so I don`t see the purpose of MMS)

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

the picture could be a link to a file or maybe a tiny screenshot, which will be launched via an external medium.

it would probably require the code for conversations to be opened though

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

You're referring to the email client on the N900?

I get mail notifications fine whether the client is open or closed and it has options to pick how often it automatically checks your mail (starting from every 5 minutes up to 2 hours).

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

what version do you have?

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

if no one has said this yet i didnt read all the posts

t-mobile usa can use epc.t-mobile.com for MMS and internet you do not need to change apn's

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

Thx for breaking it down @ maemo.org. again.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

From here:

(look around that text).

Also look here.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

For me MMS is important. I live in Japan where the majority of people communicate via "mobile email" which is a phrase to describe, well, emails to mobile phones. With the 3G networks here, mobile email is implemented via MMS. You get an email address assigned to your mobile phone (not POP3) and the emails (i.e. MMS) are pushed to your phone. For SMS, it's possible to use to send simple text only messages to those on the same network as you - this restricting being down to some business reason and not a technical one. So that means the only way to send a message to someone on another network than yours is MMS.

To give you some idea on usage, in the past 3 weeks I have sent 300 MMSs from my phone (not the N900). I think I am an average user in Japan at this rate since I can receive between 0-20 per day (I am not just spamming my friends!).

As for just using standard email instead, yes, I wish that was the case. Unfortunately some services will filter out non-mobile originated emails in order to stop spam getting to your phone.

I do not know the entire history of the mobile industry here in Japan but I would guess the current usage stems from the early days of messaging when connecting to a POP3/SMTP account wouldn't be feasible technically from a phone.

Anyway IMHO, I personally feel that Nokia could either provide more support to the MMS efforts (via fMMS being fully integrated), or, if they feel that MMS is a dead technology, stop incorporating it into all their other products and encourage the whole industry to follow suit.

Re: really, why no MMS?
 

Who are you, and what have you done with the bear of very little brain? :D