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Is iPhone MMS imminent?

As MMS commands reappear on our iPhone, we wonder if the feature is no far behind.

Kent German Former senior managing editor / features
Kent was a senior managing editor at CNET News. A veteran of CNET since 2003, he reviewed the first iPhone and worked in both the London and San Francisco offices. When not working, he's planning his next vacation, walking his dog or watching planes land at the airport (yes, really).
Kent German
2 min read

Though AT&T customers are still waiting for multimedia messaging to arrive on the iPhone, I got a surprise last week that made me think that the feature is on its way. After upgrading to OS 3.0.1, I noticed that my MMS commands had reappeared. I originally had them when testing the beta version of OS 3.0, but they vanished after upgrading to the full release.

I still can't actually send a multimedia message, but the fact that the commands are there is noteworthy enough. At first I thought it was a direct result of 3.0.1 (I haven't jailbroken CNET's iPhone 3G), but when I asked around the office none of my colleagues were showing the commands. I did some further sleuthing and found that I had AT&T version 5.0 while my colleagues had 4.0.

So, dear readers, I need your help. Are you showing MMS commands on your iPhone? The below pictures will show you what to look for. If so, what is your AT&T version? You can find it under Settings > General > About. Just look for the "Carrier" field.

If this is a sign that MMS is imminent, it wouldn't be surprising. Two months ago at WWDC, Apple promised that the long-awaited and sorely needed feature would arrive later in summer. Now that the end of summer is in sight, time is ticking. And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it's still infuriating that AT&T wasn't ready to support MMS when iPhone carriers in other countries were ready from day one.

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