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MobiSpine plans 'white label' MMS application for iPhone

Wireless carriers will be able to add their own MMS applications to the iPhone if they use MobiSpine's software under their own brand.

Tom Krazit Former Staff writer, CNET News
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Google, as the most prominent company on the Internet defends its search juggernaut while expanding into nearly anything it thinks possible. He has previously written about Apple, the traditional PC industry, and chip companies. E-mail Tom.
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Tom Krazit
Carriers will be able to add their own branded MMS applications using MobiSpine's software. MobiSpine

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 like how "white box" PC makers put together bare-bones systems for local distributors to sell under their own brand name.

One hurdle might be the approval process: MobiSpine's MMS application isn't available on the App Store as of this writing. However, individual carriers might have to submit their own versions on a case by case basis. So far, Apple has resisted the temptation to add MMS, which lets you send photos and videos in the body of a text message, to the iPhone.