Assorted Afflatuses

The madness has begun. Reviews of Apple, Inc.'s new iPhone 3G have gone to press. Some lunatics in Manhattan have even decided to form a queue nearly week in advance of the new iPhone's launch date.

For my part, I do not plan to snap up the new iPhone. Given AT&T's spotty 3G coverage — especially in not-on-the-cutting-edge Lewiston, Maine where I go to school — I cannot justify spending $299 for what is essentially the same phone, on top of the $15 rate hike I would sustain on my already insane monthly AT&T tariff.

Nevertheless, I read some of the early reviews, which by and large echoed my thoughts: faster Internet, better location via GPS, way more expensive in the long run, not terribly different than the original iPhone. At least one reviewer, though, resurrected the MMS issue. Since the day Apple began peddling the original iPhone, many members of the digerati have bemoaned the iPhone's lack of multimedia message or MMS functionality.

But I cannot understand why. I have never sent an MMS in my life. Nor, for that matter has one of my friends ever remarked, "Oh, let me send you an MMS of that photo." As far as I can tell, no one actually uses multimedia messaging. The MMS is essentially an email, with the difference that most carriers charge some outrageous per-use fee for each one sent. Especially on the iPhone — with unlimited data and all — it makes far more sense to send a plain old email.

I see Apple's omission of MMS as a well-planned feature, not a glaring omission. By not even including the ability to send multimedia messages, Apple gently nudges people away from spending 40 cents to send a photo via MMS. Instead, people use the convenient "Email Photo" button integrated in the iPhone's Photos application. Anything that helps consumers escape from the nickel and dime lunacy of America's wireless carriers is good news — and good choice architecture — in my book.