[rigorkrad]

imessage relies on the person receiving a message to keep opening the messenger app to see if any new messages are received. i find this unacceptable

differences:

when an iphone receives a text message (sms) you get the following features:
notification via a # badged on the messenger icon indicating you got a message
the default tri-tone text alert
notification on the screen, either a banner, a badge, notification on the lock screen, notification in notification center.

when an iphone receives a free message sent to your apple id you get the following features
a small tick noise
no other sounds
no other alerts
no other badges at all
you literally have no clue you even got a message until you actually look in the messenger app

be warned and tell your friends do not send mission critical messages via imessage that need a quick response because the other person who got your message will probably have no idea you even sent one.

however when i tested an ipad 2 i saw signs of notifications. so i believe this is a carrier restriction

[Rocky Racoon]

What???? It's ok for you to get the BBM code but not the phone number ?? am I missing something anyone ??

Ok, let me clarify my dissapointment with iMessage.

With BBM, you can add people to your contacts via a pin. Then, you can create groups such as 'work', 'football', 'my party' etc. You can then send them group message s to update them for whatever reason and that to me was was a great feature. Being able to send a messageto to 16 people saying 'football practice has changed to 7pm tomorrow' was extremely simple. You could also, if needed, block any of those 'pins' if you needed too.

Correct me of I'm wrong but iMessage can't do this, and this is why I'm dissapointed. As I iPhone user, I feel no need whatsoever in it. I have unlimited txts anyway so the only difference i will notice is the colour of the send button.

[Freiteez]

Imessenger really only makes sense for those using IPADs and IPODs. If you are messaging between two phones then it really doesn't make any sense to me what the difference is.

Well if you dont have unlimited text and everyone you talk to has idevices running ios5, then now you pretty much have unlimited text.

I think its perfect. Now i can text my international friends and text messages feels like im on instant messanger. Imessages send way faster then a sms too.

[CrzyP]

I think I found a fix for my issue I posted earlier. I ended up importing my google contacts onto my phone. Then I had to edit each contact selecting "iPhone" instead of "mobile" next to the mobile number. Works now!

[dougmcarthur]

Yea i mean i like the feature and its quick when sending a message..but i thought it would be a separate thing, not integrated with in the txt messages

I'm curious why you'd want it to be separate - would there be any advantage to having yet another messaging app? I think integrating it with text messages and using the person's phone number is the right route. The added functionality of iMessage is automatically built in when it detects another user on its network. that's smart.

[dougmcarthur]

Ok, let me clarify my dissapointment with iMessage.

With BBM, you can add people to your contacts via a pin. Then, you can create groups such as 'work', 'football', 'my party' etc. You can then send them group message s to update them for whatever reason and that to me was was a great feature. Being able to send a messageto to 16 people saying 'football practice has changed to 7pm tomorrow' was extremely simple. You could also, if needed, block any of those 'pins' if you needed too.

Correct me of I'm wrong but iMessage can't do this, and this is why I'm dissapointed. As I iPhone user, I feel no need whatsoever in it. I have unlimited txts anyway so the only difference i will notice is the colour of the send button.

I think group messaging would be a welcome addition to iMessage. The features that it has now are still pretty great, though - it connects ANYONE on a device running iOS (aside from the iPod nano and AppleTV2). That's the great power in the iMessage network. For an iPhone user, this might seem like nothing but for everyone else out there using iPod touch/iPad it is going to bring the convenience of text messaging to devices that aren't otherwise connected to mobile networks.

[Dennisgarcia]

is there anything specifically that you have to do in order to activate imessage? how do we know its there? any verification?

[cowdenharley]

you need to create separate iCloud IDs and then use those for iMessage. You can leave your store ID the same one you have always been using.

Thanks mate. Appreciate it.

[Steve28]

is there anything specifically that you have to do in order to activate imessage? how do we know its there? any verification?

settings->Messages. Turn it on.

[Steve28]

That's the problem though. I am texting my friends iPhone who has iOS5 and they get a SMS not an iMessage. It wasn't until I got by friends email address, that I could send an iMessage to his iP4.

well, for sure, this is not the way it's supposed to work.

You sure you all have it activated correctly in Settings -> Messages?

[Steve28]

imessage relies on the person receiving a message to keep opening the messenger app to see if any new messages are received. i find this unacceptable

differences:

when an iphone receives a text message (sms) you get the following features:
notification via a # badged on the messenger icon indicating you got a message
the default tri-tone text alert
notification on the screen, either a banner, a badge, notification on the lock screen, notification in notification center.

when an iphone receives a free message sent to your apple id you get the following features
a small tick noise
no other sounds
no other alerts
no other badges at all
you literally have no clue you even got a message until you actually look in the messenger app

be warned and tell your friends do not send mission critical messages via imessage that need a quick response because the other person who got your message will probably have no idea you even sent one.

however when i tested an ipad 2 i saw signs of notifications. so i believe this is a carrier restriction

Something's wrong with your setup then. For me (and everyone else I know with iOS5 installed), the iMessage notification is identical to the SMS notifications. Same sound, same badge, same everything (except it says "iMessage" instead of "text message"

[jglev]

Isn't the iPhone telephone number and the email address used for iMessage linked? Say you have an iPhone and an iPad. The iPhone has both your telephone number and email address (I use my @me.com address since my whole family shares the iTunes ID) and the iPad has the same email address (does iMessage report the same "Receive At 2 addresses" on the iPad as it does on the iPhone? I don't have an iPad, so I don't know). The way I understood how it works is that if someone sends you an iMessage to your phone number, it automatically goes to your iPhone and iPad because iCloud has the two linked. The same thing happens if someone sends an iMessage to your email address (it goes to your iPhone and iPad). Am I misunderstanding how it works?

Also, how do you send contact and location info from iMessage? Apple says you can share those as well as photos and videos, but I can't figure out how to do contact and location info?

Thanks.

[isrararrafi]

^^^ you go to your contact app and click share info..it will ask u whether u want to email or message it

[DigiColMedia]

Isn't the iPhone telephone number and the email address used for iMessage linked? Say you have an iPhone and an iPad. The iPhone has both your telephone number and email address (I use my @me.com address since my whole family shares the iTunes ID) and the iPad has the same email address (does iMessage report the same "Receive At 2 addresses" on the iPad as it does on the iPhone? I don't have an iPad, so I don't know). The way I understood how it works is that if someone sends you an iMessage to your phone number, it automatically goes to your iPhone and iPad because iCloud has the two linked. The same thing happens if someone sends an iMessage to your email address (it goes to your iPhone and iPad). Am I misunderstanding how it works?

Also, how do you send contact and location info from iMessage? Apple says you can share those as well as photos and videos, but I can't figure out how to do contact and location info?

Thanks.

From what I can gather this is how it works with 2 devices. If you are sent an iMessage to your phone number it will only display on your iPhone. If you are sent an iMessage to your assigned email address it will show up on both your iPhone & iPad/iPod Touch. Correct me if I'm wrong.


Regarding sending contacts and location data just share a contact or location from within the Contacts or Maps App like you normally would and select message instead of mail. If the recipient has an iOS device with iMessage activated it will be sent as an iMessage. You don't necessarily have to be in the message app to share.

[sting7k]

Anyone else underwhelmed with this?

I was expecting something like BBM where you could add people using a unique code. I don't really see the point if you have to have their phone number to begin with.

Am I missing the point here?

It's alright but I have only a pretty small number of people that I text regularly with iPhones so it isn't going to put a big dent in my normal texting.

You don't need a phone number, you can use the person's email/AppleID for iMessage if they have an iOS device.

[j0hnnyv#IM]

I like iMessage a lot. I was a BlackBerry user for over 7 years before 4 months ago and BBM was and is the best thing they have going. iMessage is NOT as good as BBM yet but the ability to use it with other iPhone users on iOS5 and have it not use txts, be able to see when theyre typing, see when messages are delivered, do group chats, and send photos, etc. There is zero downside to iMessage and it will only get better.

[Gooster]

I was messaging a friend on my iPhone to his iPad last night. I then woke up and found I had to close an entire conversation on my iPad that synced with it. Is there some way to not have to do that? I don't want to have to keep doing that all the time.

Edit: Is it feasible to create an Apple ID specifically for iMessage on a particular device, actually?

Otherwise, I really like the concept in general. Execution is not bad. Makes me miss BBM quite heavily though.

[natefish]

What's underwhelming about it to me: we were told it would automatically send an iMessage if the other person has an iPhone on iOS 5. Well, my brother and I both have iOS 5 and it still sent SMS. Also it didn't merge conversations when he sent an iMessage from his email address.

[iSurf]

Yea i dont get how it sends as an imessege to a friend but then they all turn green as texts. Maybe its because they are in low signal to no signal area?

[imwjl]

I think I am on the same train of thought as you. I don't see the point really.

It hasn't been a day and I see people without text message plans using it with me, and how it will keep my text plan to the basic level.

It gives a level of messaging on my iPad and Pod that are WiFi only.

A hit to carrier profit is an issue I see beyond the Apple Only nature. There I already see us going to a world where what we really pay for is access, bandwidth and the decision on how much a particular phone is worth to us.

[meinvein]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think people are not understanding that you need to have the email address that your contact used when setting up iCloud to begin with. That is how iCloud can make it work. This email address also needs to be saved in the same contact for that person as their phone number in order for iMessage to decide which to use.

[bkmac]

I like iMessage a lot. I was a BlackBerry user for over 7 years before 4 months ago and BBM was and is the best thing they have going. iMessage is NOT as good as BBM yet but the ability to use it with other iPhone users on iOS5 and have it not use txts, be able to see when theyre typing, see when messages are delivered, do group chats, and send photos, etc. There is zero downside to iMessage and it will only get better.

That's what I am looking forward to. I don't know why I am so attached to BBM (considering I talk to maybe three people because all my contacts left for iPhones), but I am. Being able to have that BBM-feel talking to friends will be cool.

Do you have to press anything specific to make it an iMessage instead of a text, or it does it automatically if you/the recipient both have iOS5?

[big9erfan]

TDo you have to press anything specific to make it an iMessage instead of a text, or it does it automatically if you/the recipient both have iOS5?

The Messages app knows if the recipient has an iMessage device and will deliver the message via iMessage automatically.

[stoneland]

I like it! My friend and I were BlackBerry users and we used BBM a lot. iMessage was one of the pluses for iOS 5 for us. Plus we like the light blue speech bubbles!

[fuzzy#IM]

not sure if I saw this exact "issue" but......is there a way to group Txt's and iMessages in the same thread.

example: Have a friend that has updated his iPad but not his iPhone.......so he sent me an iMessage from his iPad....I added his appleid to his contact......later he sent me a txt from his iPhone......two separate threads.....shouldn't they be grouped since the contact info is in the same and correct contact???