by Marguerite Reardon

Updated at 4:09 p.m. PDT with a link to a Boy Genius report and a clarification on when AT&T expects MMS and tethering service to be ready.

iPhone users across the U.S. were disappointed Monday to learn that AT&T, the only operator in the country offering the iPhone, won't immediately support a couple of key new features in Apple's new 3.0 operating system that will be available starting next week. But AT&T says these features are coming.

On Monday, Apple announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco that it plans to finally add data tethering to the iPhone, which will turn the device into a wireless modem to connect laptops to 3G networks. It also announced that the new 3.0 version of the iPhone operating system will support multimedia messaging messaging.

These features have topped iPhone users' wish lists since the phone was launched two years ago. But millions of iPhone users in the U.S. will have to wait a little bit longer. That said, AT&T says the features are coming soon.

"We will be offering a tethering plan and MMS for the iPhone," Mark Siegel, AT&T's spokesman, said by phone. "But we haven't announced a date."

Siegel was short on details about when these features would be offered, which devices they would be offered on, and how much it plans to charge for the services. Siegel confirmed that the MMS functionality will be offered by the end of the summer, but he wouldn't give any indication as to when tethering will be added.

Apple currently supports two versions of the iPhone on its network: the original iPhone, which went on sale in 2007 and operates on AT&T's 2.5G EDGE network, and the iPhone 3G, which was introduced last summer and operates on the faster 3G network.

Starting next week, AT&T will get another version of the phone called the iPhone 3G S. This device will come in two flavors--a 16GB model that will cost $199 with a two year contract and a 32GB model that will cost $299 with a two year contract. AT&T and Apple will also continue to sell the 8GB iPhone 3G announced last year for $99 with a two year contract. Older 16GB iPhone 3Gs will be available for $149 with a two-year contract until stock of that device runs out, Siegel said.

Siegel couldn't say whether MMS and data tethering will be available on older versions of the iPhone. But if Apple is offering the features as part of the software upgrade, and AT&T offers the service for the iPhone 3G S phones, it would make sense for the company to offer the features on all iPhones supporting the upgraded software. But Siegel couldn't say for sure if this was the case.

While a delay of a few weeks or even a month or two might not seem like a big deal to some people, it seems strange given that AT&T already offers MMS and smartphone data tethering on several other devices. MMS is practically a standard feature on many new phones sold today. MMS messages cost 30 cents to send and receive. And MMS is included in the carrier's messaging plans, which iPhone users already subscribing to those plans are actually paying for a service they can't yet use. Those plans start at $5 a month for 200 messages, and an unlimited plan costs $20 a month.

AT&T also already offers data tethering on several devices. In fact, AT&T's Web site lists no fewer than 11 smartphones that can be used to provide wireless Internet service to laptops. Phones that offer this functionality, include the recently launched Nokia E71m, the Samsung Propel, and the Palm Centro. AT&T also supports data tethering for BlackBerry devices, including the Curve, Bold and Pearl.

According to AT&T's Web site, smartphone tethering plans, which offers Web connectivity for a laptop plus personal data usage for a smartphone, cost an additional $65 a month. The BlackBerry tethering plan costs $60 a month. Both services include 5GB of usage per month. Customers who exceed the allotted bucket of data usage are charged for overages on a per kilobyte basis.

It's difficult to understand why AT&T would need additional time to offer these new features on the iPhone, since it's clear that the company already offers the services and has established rate plans for them. Siegel wasn't able to elaborate or offer any explanation as to why AT&T would need more time to activate these services.

But I wonder if AT&T is worried about overloading its network. iPhone users download games, video and other Web data at two to four times the rate of other smatphone users, according to comScore. So if they also send mobile messages and use tethered data connections at much higher rates too, AT&T might feel some pain on its network.

Even though AT&T has made a lot of noise lately about upgrades to its 3G network, poor network performance is one of the biggest complaints from iPhone users (myself included.) At this year's South by Southwest conference in Austin, iPhone users complained of delayed text messages, poor Web access and dropped calls.

I'm not really sure how a few weeks or even a couple of months would help AT&T overcome this problem, but perhaps the company needs a little bit more time to prepare its network for what could be an onslaught of activity.

The Web site Boy Genius Report referenced an anonymous source who said that AT&T must manually remove all the "Opt Out MMS codes" on each iPhone account to activate MMS. I'm not sure how true this is, since 29 other operators around the world are planning to have the MMS capability ready when the software launches.

Regardless of the reason behind the delay, one thing is certain. AT&T isn't winning any fans among iPhone users for not making these features available when the software is released.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10260012-37.html

This is more than an disappointment, it's an outrage. More than that, perhaps. Of all the new and wonderful features, MMS messaging is the one thing iPhone users have been dreaming about since they found out, to their indescribable disbelief, that their new and shiney smartphone actually didn't have the feature. iPhone's 3.0 OS came out last Wednesday, and knowing every detail about the new upgrade I was horrified when I got that stupid "I sent you a multimedia message. You can view my message via the web at..." message when my brother tried to send me a picture. The feature that I'd waited a year and a half for was finally available, and I still have to wait untill AT&T get's their heads out of their rears to use it! Needless to say, I'm rather upset about this whole deal. Although there are several carriers that the iPhone operates on around the world, it is an AT&T exclusive phone. If AT&T knew that it would take some time to add the feature, why could Apple not have waited until AT&T was ready? And with all the complaints AT&T users are making against poorly working features on a beautifully designed smartphone, maybe Apple should consider unlocking it's masterpiece and sharing it with the world. You can tell me I'm wrong, and you can tell me why, until you're blue in the face, but technical details aside, this is my opinion; it's a nerd vent.

Do you own an iPhone? How do you feel about MMS (and tethering) being delayed?

"Do not misuse my name. I am the LORD your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name." (CEV)

What Exodus 20:7 means by "misuse my name" includes:

1. Breaking promises
2. Telling lies after swearing to tell the truth
3. Using the Lord's name as a curse word

    The definition of a promise is, "a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future." The word "promise" is mentioned over 200 times in the bible, and every time it comes up it is in the context of a statement made before God. Say I promise my wife that I will be faithful to her for the rest of my life. When I promise that to her, what I'm really doing is telling God that I will be faithful to her. If I'm not faithful from that point forward, the statement I made before God would become untrue, and this verse says that I will not go unpunished for lying to God.

    The second point, telling lies after swearing (or promising) to tell the truth, is quite the same as the first. If you promise (swear before God) to tell the truth, and instead tell a lie, you have lied not only to the person you swore to tell the truth to, but also to God; a sin which this verse says you will also be punished for.

    As offensive as it probably should be, I don't even take notice when people say "Oh my God" or even just "God". It's when people come out and say "Jesus Christ" (or "Jesus" or "Christ" alone) that really, sincerely brings me a feeling of tremendous pain meaning both awkwardness and physical discomfort. I hate it, I despise it, and there is nothing that offends me more. I've pondered the reason for my not caring about those who say "God" verses my feelings toward those who say "Jesus" and I've come to the conclusion that "God" is far less specific than "Jesus" is. When I say "oh, god" I honestly feel I'm not taking the lords name in vain. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the word "god" is really just that; a word. When I'm talking to God I say "Father" or "Heavenly Father" or something equally as specific and/or honorable. With all the 'religious diversity' out there, "God" is just to non-specific for me and I think that's a major factor in why it doesn't strike me as offensive when people say it.

    No matter the exact meaning, this commandment has always been a favorite of mine. It really brings into perspective how serious God's rules for man are. Sure, we can all walk around saying "You're going to Hell if...." or "God will punish you for eternity if...", but this message isn't just someone saying God will or might punish you, it's God himself saying I will punish you.

What do you think? Is taking the Lord's name in vain unforgivable?

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