Not being an iFanatic, I haven’t paid that much attention to what was in iOS5…
Among its other things, iOS5 includes a builtin capability called iMessage. Cutting through the jargon, it is basically free unlimited text messages. If both parties have an email account associated with an Apple ID (your iTunes account), you can text each other all you want without charge.
Apple notices that the couterparty is also using an Apple ID and switches the texting app to alert you that you are using iMessage and there is no charge.
I’m curious how this fits into the regulatory and privacy issues – Apple is not a telecom provider in the traditional sense. The government has pretty much unrestricted ability to snoop on text messages today because AT&T is a regulated carrier and AT&T is inclined to turn things over to the government freely anyhow as they’re essentially part of the government when you whittle it all down.
I may regret this, but I’m associated the gmail address for this site with my iPhone. So if you have iMessage, fire a missive in my direction. What’s the worst that could happen?
Apparently, not much or just a ‘bit’… 😉
Problems plague Apple iCloud, IOS launch
Leo LaPorte had a caller from one of those.
If you listened carefully to the caller, he mentioned doing something that only a person with a jailbroken iPhone would be able to do.
After adding my SRGuide email account to the iMessage account, I got the first SMS spam message I’ve gotten in two years of having the phone.
I thought maybe his final gift was giving Spring the iPhone 4s 🙂