Another iPhone MMS Rant
My sister-in-law's boyfriend just got a new HDTV setup and decided to text me a picture of it. My iPhone failed in the usual way:
- Instead of his picture, I get a message that directs me to http://viewmymessage.com/1 (Yep, that /1 is important. No, it doesn't redirect you properly based on your login and password.) I get an randomly-generated username and a password that's fairly easy to remember. I can't copy/paste these things.
- Instead of fucking around with MobileSafari (writing down the username and password so I don't have to switch back and forth between the iPhone's singular running applicaiton), I sit down at my computer and go to the website.
- Website demands I use /1 or /2 on the URL, meaning I have to examine the link to see what's what.
- Type in credentials, "Failure encountered during view message."
- Repeat five times, sixth time actually works. I get a very tiny photograph. Hooray.
This is my $400 Jesusphone at work. Sure, I can type like a dream. I can shake my phone to find a restaurant or wave it around like a lightsaber or SSH into my home server and check on stuff. But the free Motorola that comes with a Verizon account can send and receive pictures!
On any other phone, the procedure is thus:
- Flip open your phone. Yay, picture! Perhaps even save picture locally!
There's lots to love about the iPhone, but there's also lots to hate. And this amateur-hour bullshit regarding MMS that hasn't even been so much as commented on by Apple is just the tip of the iceberg. Stay tuned for such thrills as:
- Why does my email client suck?
- My friends can run two programs at once, why can't I?
- I hear background services are cool and useful!
- My springboard (home screen) is about as organized as my physical desk (which is to say not at all)