Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

McWizard

macrumors member
Jun 29, 2014
41
0
I've never understood the need to use a TEXT messaging app to send videos! So many other options!
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,467
5,097
Who the hell uses MMS these days anyway??? All people i know use a data based system like Whatsapp for sending videos and big images.

Yeah, we're a bunch of lagards here in the States, likely due to the carriers including unlimited text messaging on most wireless plans now. Whatsapp has a huge number of users worldwide but it appears most aren't in the US. I installed it a few months ago to give it a test drive and I think 3 of my contacts had accounts--out of hundreds of mobile numbers. Same goes for active users of Hangouts. Biggest percentage of my mobile contacts use iMessage.
 

torana355

macrumors 68040
Dec 8, 2009
3,633
2,734
Sydney, Australia
Yeah, we're a bunch of lagards here in the States, likely due to the carriers including unlimited text messaging on most wireless plans now. Whatsapp has a huge number of users worldwide but it appears most aren't in the US. I installed it a few months ago to give it a test drive and I think 3 of my contacts had accounts--out of hundreds of mobile numbers. Same goes for active users of Hangouts. Biggest percentage of my mobile contacts use iMessage.

Yeah its very popular in Australia, we also get unlimited MMS and Text but Whatsapp can do everything and across all platforms. I don't even open my standard message app lol.
 

Tinmania

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2011
3,528
1,016
Aridzona
Yeah its very popular in Australia, we also get unlimited MMS and Text but Whatsapp can do everything and across all platforms. I don't even open my standard message app lol.
MMS is okay, mostly, for pics. Video... forget it.

Here in the U.S. a lot of people are starting to be wary of data usage, and most are not on unlimited data plans--whereas are on unlimited SMS/MMS. While MMS does use data, just like a messaging app, it doesn't count towards your data allotment.

So one could send pics and (crappy) vids all day long without affecting data usage one bit (no pun! ;)). Unfortunately that is also why the carriers will not all high quality video.




Michael
 
Last edited:

Primejimbo

macrumors 68040
Aug 10, 2008
3,295
131
Around
The problem with this line of thinking is not about what the user is willing to do - but what those with whom the user communicates frequently are willing to do.

I know in my case, I wouldn't want to have to get my wife, mother, father, two brothers, two sisters, brother-in-law, best friends, grandmother, wife's grandmother, mother-in-law......all to switch to some other messaging app just because mine doesn't work as well as it should.

This is a HUGE benefit for Apple. You can say "oh use a third party option" all day long, but it will NEVER be as easy and effective as a GREAT stock option.

iMessages is a GREAT stock messaging app. Hangouts is NOT....yet.
I agree, I know very few people who use a 3rd party app for messaging, and I dont see a point. Why would I use all these different apps that do the same thing that my text message/iMessage app does? Why should I tell friends/family "hey get this app so I can message you on it"
The problem with iMessage is that it is apple only, which is a serious disadvantage. It's great, but will eventually be overtaken for that reason alone.
I like iMessage because it's in the same app for texting and iMessage, I don't need one app for texting and another for iMessage.

Who the hell uses MMS these days anyway??? All people i know use a data based system like Whatsapp for sending videos and big images.
I use MMS daily, and as I said above, why should I tell people to get another app just so i can message them? If you have a cell phone, chances are you have MMS also.

MMS is okay, mostly, for pics. Video... forget it.

Here in the U.S. a lot of people are starting to be wary of data usage, and most are not on unlimited data plans--whereas are on unlimited SMS/MMS. While MMS does use data, just like a messaging app, it doesn't count towards your data allotment.

So one could send pics and (crappy) vids all day long without affecting data usage one bit (no pun! ;)). Unfortunately that is also why the carriers will not all high quality video.




Michael

I agree, and people keep saying how whatapp is cross platform, but isn't MMS on the stop app also?


Maybe it's because I don't message videos all day long. If I take a video and wanted people to see it, I just post it on social media. Also, my mom has a smart phone and she's very use to it too (iPhone), I'm not about to spend time teaching her to use another app also. Texting/MMS/iMessage works fine for us.
 
Last edited:

Dontazemebro

macrumors 68020
Jul 23, 2010
2,173
0
I dunno, somewhere in West Texas
Who the hell uses MMS these days anyway??? All people i know use a data based system like Whatsapp for sending videos and big images.

I would say who the hell uses WhatsApp? I don't know of 1 person who uses it, except contacts overseas. I also like hangouts but the limitations are sickening. It's not intuitive and as a one of Google's primary apps; it needs to be.

+1 for iMessage.
 

torana355

macrumors 68040
Dec 8, 2009
3,633
2,734
Sydney, Australia
I would say who the hell uses WhatsApp? I don't know of 1 person who uses it, except contacts overseas. I also like hangouts but the limitations are sickening. It's not intuitive and as a one of Google's primary apps; it needs to be.

+1 for iMessage.

Like ive already said EVERYONE i know uses Whatsapp in Australia. The videos i get from iphone users are such crap quality that i can see why Android didn't bother automatically downsizing them. The MMS limitation is a carrier limitation. On an android there are much better ways to send a video then a text messaging app.
 

srkmish

macrumors regular
Feb 10, 2013
216
0
I would say who the hell uses WhatsApp? I don't know of 1 person who uses it, except contacts overseas. I also like hangouts but the limitations are sickening. It's not intuitive and as a one of Google's primary apps; it needs to be.

+1 for iMessage.

The trends are very interesting. My brother is now settled in us ( native of india) and whenever we have to chat, he doesnt like getting online on skype. He asks me to facetime him only. I guess the apple penetration is so huge in usa and people are so set in their ways that facetime/imessage is a huge deal.

Here in india, only 5% of the smartphone owning public can afford unlocked iphones and nearly 90% have android. That makes watsapp the default messaging app and if someone doesn't have it, he will be castigated by his friends/family to install it and until then they wont leave him/her in peace :p . In short, everyone uses Whatsapp in india
 

Dontazemebro

macrumors 68020
Jul 23, 2010
2,173
0
I dunno, somewhere in West Texas
The trends are very interesting. My brother is now settled in us ( native of india) and whenever we have to chat, he doesnt like getting online on skype. He asks me to facetime him only. I guess the apple penetration is so huge in usa and people are so set in their ways that facetime/imessage is a huge deal.

Here in india, only 5% of the smartphone owning public can afford unlocked iphones and nearly 90% have android. That makes watsapp the default messaging app and if someone doesn't have it, he will be castigated by his friends/family to install it and until then they wont leave him/her in peace :p . In short, everyone uses Whatsapp in india

I can definitely see the correlation in a 3rd world country. I still have friends and relatives overseas who refuse to give up BBM. They live by it.
 

mrex

macrumors 68040
Jul 16, 2014
3,458
1,527
europe
Like ive already said EVERYONE i know uses Whatsapp in Australia. The videos i get from iphone users are such crap quality that i can see why Android didn't bother automatically downsizing them. The MMS limitation is a carrier limitation. On an android there are much better ways to send a video then a text messaging app.

exactly. Hopefully they dont do that ever! What is the idea of talking about high quality lenses and vids just for converting them to crap.
 

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Original poster
Jun 11, 2009
11,488
5,413
exactly. Hopefully they dont do that ever! What is the idea of talking about high quality lenses and vids just for converting them to crap.

In the states we are kind of stuck with the stock MMS options on phones. Trying to get a large network of relatives, business associates, friends, etc. on the same app is a complete nightmare. Plus if I expect my video just to be something quick that the other person only views on their tiny cell phone screen then I have no need to send the full video quality.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
The trends are very interesting. My brother is now settled in us ( native of india) and whenever we have to chat, he doesnt like getting online on skype. He asks me to facetime him only. I guess the apple penetration is so huge in usa and people are so set in their ways that facetime/imessage is a huge deal.

Here in india, only 5% of the smartphone owning public can afford unlocked iphones and nearly 90% have android. That makes watsapp the default messaging app and if someone doesn't have it, he will be castigated by his friends/family to install it and until then they wont leave him/her in peace :p . In short, everyone uses Whatsapp in india

It's because FaceTime and iMessage are baked into the phone and making a facetime call is as easy as making a regular call.

If you don't have Skype downloaded, or don't have an account, it can be a pain to set up just for one call. Why go to some additional app that will just take up space when a great pre-loaded option is available?

iMessage even more so as the app switches between SMS and iMessage seamlessly.
 

mrex

macrumors 68040
Jul 16, 2014
3,458
1,527
europe
It's because FaceTime and iMessage are baked into the phone and making a facetime call is as easy as making a regular call.

If you don't have Skype downloaded, or don't have an account, it can be a pain to set up just for one call. Why go to some additional app that will just take up space when a great pre-loaded option is available?

iMessage even more so as the app switches between SMS and iMessage seamlessly.

in a perfect world everyone has the same phone. in a reality we have differend kind of phones. e.g. i dont do anything with facetime or imessage, because none of my friends have apples devices. (one has) we all use skype instead of preloaded apps etc.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
in a perfect world everyone has the same phone. in a reality we have differend kind of phones. e.g. i dont do anything with facetime or imessage, because none of my friends have apples devices. (one has) we all use skype instead of preloaded apps etc.

Agreed - which is why I've stated such as a big reason why I don't stray from iOS.

My wife, mother, father, brothers, sisters, cousins, mother-in-laws, grandparents, friends.....etc....all have iPhones.

Why switch to Android and have to set some work around up when I can AirDrop, PhotoStream, FaceTime, iMessage etc all out of the box?

It's not good enough to just say "well get a third party app that can do it". That may be easy for the user (for instance, I personally have no issue doing so, even though its not preferred), but for the numerous people that user shares/communicates with it may be a huge pain.

The strength of Apple's 1st Party services and apps really are a huge plus for them. If they sucked, I would feel STUCK using them. But I don't at all. They are as good if not better than any alternatives out there. AND they're baked in for all my non-techie friends and family to use easily (not all my friends and family are non-techie, but you get the point).

So it goes both ways.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
WhatsApp is awesome! But it also took me a while to get my head around the Hangouts app for SMS, I think Google will end up changing it?

Hangouts is better than its multitude of predecessors, but it still sucks.....

Needs big time improvements. Especially as iMessage gets big upgrades this month.
 

mrex

macrumors 68040
Jul 16, 2014
3,458
1,527
europe
offtopic

My wife, mother, father, brothers, sisters, cousins, mother-in-laws, grandparents, friends.....etc....all have iPhones.1

Why switch to Android and have to set some work around up when I can AirDrop, PhotoStream, FaceTime, iMessage etc all out of the box? 2


The strength of Apple's 1st Party services and apps really are a huge plus for them. 3

1-2. if you can live with it, you dont need to change anything. "dont fix it if aint broken"

3. how about a new friend without an apple? so it is also a huge disavantage to be bounded in an ecosystem with apps which mostly wont work crossplatform (not even bt). apple is in a minority position still and most of us have something else than apples gadgets. it is a quite closed ecosystem which doesnt help getting people to be interested in it.

i just bought a new phone. OnePlus One - and i didnt even consider to get iphone because it is too restricted. the restriction narrows the use and hence makes it less interesting. when compairing ios and opo/cyanogenmod together, ios is from middle age.

/offtopic
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
offtopic



1-2. if you can live with it, you dont need to change anything. "dont fix it if aint broken"

3. how about a new friend without an apple? so it is also a huge disavantage to be bounded in an ecosystem with apps which mostly wont work crossplatform. apple is in a minority position still and most of us have something else than apples gadgets. it is a quite closed ecosystem which doesnt help getting people to be intested in it.

i just bought a new phone. OnePlus One - and i didnt even consider to get iphone because it is too restricted. The restriction narrows the use and hence makes it less interesting. When compairing ios and opo/cyanogenmod together, ios is from middle age.

/offtopic

For #3 - I have one buddy (I'm talking close friends here, not general acquaintances) who has a GS4. I can still use iMessage because SMS is integrated directly into the app. I can group message with him and my iPhone using buddy (other best friend) because iMessages manages it for me (I've had numerous issues on my Nexus 5 because Hangouts uses MMS to send group messages which sometimes don't work).

As far as sharing goes, he uses other stuff so I have no problem downloading those for him. I can do so on an iPhone, I just choose not to. It's not like I'm limited to only using iMessage or FaceTime. It just works far better being built in.

In my particular example, the GS4 using buddy has DropBox and we use that along with regular MMS and Facebook for sharing videos and pics and stuff. Usually it's Facebook.
 

mrex

macrumors 68040
Jul 16, 2014
3,458
1,527
europe
this is the thing. you need to solve it somehow how to get things to the black sheep who is not using ios.

this is not a problem when everybody is using the same app which is working crossplatform. e.g. via facebook.

i prefer skype because i can use it from whatever devices...

remember those times when facetime refused to work because of issues like older OS version? or problem with imessage servers? being 1st party app doesnt mean they will work better (or worse) than 3rd party apps.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
this is the thing. you need to solve it somehow how to get things to the black sheep who is not using ios.

this is not a problem when everybody is using the same app which is working crossplatform. e.g. via facebook.

i prefer skype because i can use it from whatever devices...

remember those times when facetime refused to work because of issues like older OS version? or problem with imessage servers? being 1st party app doesnt mean they will work better (or worse) than 3rd party apps.

But what am I solving? I can use Facebook or Skype for the one friend that doesn't have an iPhone. For everyone else, why try to change their habits when we can all easily use the 1st Party options.

Oh and 3rd Party options aren't without problems either.....Facebook is catching a ton of flak for separating messaging from the core app....

My main issues stem from messaging. If I'm on an Android device and my wife is on on iPhone, I can SMS her and it comes through via her normal iMessage app. But we have horrible cell service in our house and I often need to message over wifi. I made her download Hangouts, but she rarely uses it and forgets its what she has to message me on. I also tend to switch devices and sometimes she's not sure which phone I'm using.

I could tell her to download some other app and we could communicate that way, but then she's using a separate app to communicate with me versus all her family and friends. And I too am using a different app to communicate unless I get all my friends and family to move away from something that works perfectly well for them just to make my life a little easier on an OS I don't prefer....

Just doesn't make sense. My point being, sometimes being in ecosystem has its advantages. And it's not just about what YOU can handle. It's about what your network of contacts can do as well.
 

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Original poster
Jun 11, 2009
11,488
5,413
Agreed - which is why I've stated such as a big reason why I don't stray from iOS.

My wife, mother, father, brothers, sisters, cousins, mother-in-laws, grandparents, friends.....etc....all have iPhones.

Why switch to Android and have to set some work around up when I can AirDrop, PhotoStream, FaceTime, iMessage etc all out of the box?

It's not good enough to just say "well get a third party app that can do it". That may be easy for the user (for instance, I personally have no issue doing so, even though its not preferred), but for the numerous people that user shares/communicates with it may be a huge pain.

The strength of Apple's 1st Party services and apps really are a huge plus for them. If they sucked, I would feel STUCK using them. But I don't at all. They are as good if not better than any alternatives out there. AND they're baked in for all my non-techie friends and family to use easily (not all my friends and family are non-techie, but you get the point).

So it goes both ways.

Yeah but those strengths become major weaknesses the minute you try to use them with non iOS users.
 

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Original poster
Jun 11, 2009
11,488
5,413
How so? I can still download third party apps to use with non-iOS users.

So you have to switch to a different app to message, video conference, share photos, etc. I suppose what is an inconvenience to some isn't a big deal to others, but for myself that would be very inconvenient.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.