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Since the original iPhone was first launched on June 29, 2007. Since that day, iPhone owners have been waiting with baited breath to get MMS on the iPhone. It made sense that Apple pushed a few items to the side in order to make their launch date. The list of desired features and functionality for the iPhone is quite long; but MMS was always near, if not at, the top. Today, AT&T has finally launched MMS for the iPhone in the US after Apple announced the iPhone 3GS on June 8, 2009. Since then, AT&T has been working to make the experience the best possible and no doubt will have to continue to work hard to keep it up and running since wireless usage triples every year.  Regardless, it’s finally here!  This morning, a Carrier Update was made available via iTunes.  To enable MMS on your iPhone, simply connect to iTunes and click “Check for Update”.  A message will appear* advising you that an update is available and prompts you to install it:

The update will take only a few seconds.  Once completed, restart your iPhone and ta-da!, you’ve got MMS!

*Note: The MMS Update is only available to those running iPhone OS 3.1.

As a coworker said… Welcome to 2003!

I just got an e-mail bulletin (which is also available publicly) that announces MMS for the iPhone!  Now you all have a damn date and can stop complaining!  :-)  Here are the bullet points:

• Today, AT&T announced that it will offer MMS functionality for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS on September 25, 2009.
• At launch, Apple will support MMS for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS through the iPhone 3.0 software update. MMS will not be supported on original iPhone. If customers desire more info they may contact Apple.
• The MMS functionality will be enabled with a software update on the launch date. Customers can obtain the update from iTunes, just like all other iPhone updates.
• While MMS cannot be provisioned until the launch date, AT&T and Apple will be prepared to help customers with any questions.

Below is the Public Announcement from AT&T:

AT&T’s Public Announcement: http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=1574

An Update on iPhone MMS for our Mobility Customers

We know many of our iPhone customers are eager for an update on our rollout schedule for Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).  We’ve been working for the past several months to prepare our systems and network to ensure the best possible experience with MMS when it launches – and today we can announce that launch date: September 25 for iPhone 3G and 3GS customers.  MMS will be enabled through a software update on that day.

We know that iPhone users will embrace MMS.  The unique capabilities and high usage of the iPhone’s multimedia capabilities required us to work on our network MMS architecture to carry the expected record volumes of MMS traffic and ensure an excellent experience from Day One.  We appreciate your patience as we work toward that end.

We’re riding the leading edge of smartphone growth that’s resulted in an explosion of traffic over the AT&T network. Wireless use on our network has grown an average of 350 percent year-over-year for the past two years, and is projected to continue at a rapid pace in 2009 and beyond.  The volume of smartphone data traffic the AT&T network is handling is unmatched in the wireless industry.  We want you to know that we’re working relentlessly to innovate and invest in our network to anticipate this growth in usage and to stay ahead of the anticipated growth in data demand, new devices and applications for years to come.

We thank you for your business and look forward to keeping you updated on our initiatives.

Apple hosted the highly anticipated iPhone OS 3.0 Media Event in Cupertino, CA today.  More than 1,000 new APIs are included in the new SDK which allow developers to access more functions of the device.

More than 100 New Features will be included in the 3.0 release, including many on my iPhone Wish List!  Unfortunately, Flash & Theme Customizations will not be in this release.  Also, if you have a 2G iPhone, the Stereo Bluetooth and MMS features will not be available due to hardware limitations (different radio sets) but you’ll still benefit from many of the new features.  Below is a list of the features that were demoed today at the event:

*These features were on my iPhone wishlist! WOOHOO!  I’m so excited to see the full feature list!!  Can’t wait to see what else Apple has in store!

The links to the Apple Preview site and Presentation are included as well as screenshots from the Presentation…

iPhone 3.0 Preview
iPhone 3.0 March 17th Event Presentation

Has the time finally come???

The Boy Genius Report thinks so! They’ve been told that the 3.0 Update will include MMS as well as Tethering via Bluetooth & USB. More to come…