Apple's iMessage may have caught carriers off-guard
updated 12:55 am EDT, Tue June 7, 2011
Similar to Blackberry messaging, but free
The announcement of Apple's new iMessage service in iOS 5, which allows mobile device users to send MMS-like messages to each other for free, may have come as a surprise to wireless carriers, according to Daring Fireball's John Gruber and other sources. The service, which will work across both Wi-Fi and 3G, uses secure encryption and includes delivery receipts and optional read receipts -- rather a lot like Blackberry's proprietary Blackberry Messenger (BBM) service.
The new iMessage would not replace SMS or other forms of cross-platform messaging, as it is limited to just iOS devices that can run iOS 5, meaning the iPhone 3GS or later and the third- or fourth-generation iPod Touch. It would, however, cut down on the amount of profit carriers would get from the lucrative text-messaging market, which costs carriers next to nothing to provide. Under many plans, SMS text messages carry a separate charge, or are sometimes sold as a package add-on to other plans.
The iMessage service, built into the Messages app, would automatically determine if the recipient was using an iOS device and send the text, photos, images, videos, locations or contact information free of charge. Normal charges (if any) would continue to apply for messages sent to other devices. Conversations using iMessage can be kept in sync on multiple iOS devices that are all registered to the same owner.
Other third-party apps, like Whatsapp ($1), have offered the same sort of service across devices, and continue to compete as well as be an option for older iPhones and iPod Touch devices unable to run iOS 5.
Professional Poster
Joined: Jul 2005
My guess
My guess is the carriers couldn't care less. The only thing it's really gonna cut them out on is international texting . (Which a friend of mine would probably love if his boyfriend didn't have an android phone.) I think what would drive everyone nuts would be if Apple allowed iMessages on both computers as well as Android and BlackBerry, while still tied to an Apple ID. It would give them control and get more people using their platforms, and cost them almost nothing. Though that would probably piss off carrier.