why can't the original iphone use mms?

Either the original iphone s=could not handle it (hardware issues) or Apple decided not to include this feature for other reasons.

The almost never announce the reasons for their decisions, nor do most other companies.

To make you upgrade. It's been over 2 years no, so time to upgrade.

The original iPhone does not have the hardware for sending/receiving MMS -- Apple announced that very clearly when they announced MMS this summer....you can go back and see the keynote speech for their exact answer when asked that same question -- it does not contain the hardware required.

Before this gets out of hand, here is the technical explanation:

http://www.maclife.com/article/news/truthbehind_mms_originaliphone

Yeah you're basically right. The original iphone IS capable of doing MMS. Apple just gave an answer like the usually do to make their followers belive their hardware is outdated so that they will buy new stuff.

Same as the iphone 3g not being allowed to have video recording and voice control. The hardware could definitely handle it, but Apple won't allow it. For no reason at all.

bsteiner2 wrote +_but Apple won't allow it. For no reason at all._+

In a parallel universe, Apple released Snow Leopard without support for the older hardware (PPC chipsets) and reduced the OS size by half.

Would 3Gs users be willing to double the size of the OS on their phones so that OS could also accommodate MMS on the older model phones?

Sure, because the amount of code we are talking about is minimal. No one would know.

That minimal code would first have to be written, reviewed, and tested. Then tested again for each new release. Adding R&D costs for a discontinued (for over a year) product, in use by less than ten percent of the iPhone user base, for a feature that doesn't increase revenue, makes shareholders unhappy. Unhappy shareholders pull out their money and put it elsewhere.

edclange wrote: _+Adding R&D costs for a discontinued (for over a year) product,+_

And the corollary is that my original iPhone did not include MMS two years ago. I bought it anyway so apparently I was satisfied with the iPhone "as is", without MMS or I would not have bought it.

I would be unreasonable to demand a free upgrade two years later. Oh wait, I am getting free upgrades! I got free Cut and Paste over-the-air sync and a lot of other stuff, free. Guess the "missing" MMS is not a big deal.

Disclaimer: Yeah, I also own some Apple stock... 🙂

I understand what you guys are saying, but the fact is Apple added cut/paste free, they added over the air sync free, and they left out MMS. The cut and paste code had to be written for the phone, correct? Meaning it went through R&D and testing, correct? Meaning at the same time they could have done MMS, correct?

It's akin to leaving out video recording and voice control from both the 3G and original iPhone. Now maybe video recording would require a faster processor, that could be understandable (even though we all know it works on jailbroken phones), but to say that MMS won't work because of hardware differences is just a lame excuse for not adding it. My phone from 8 years ago could do MMS, you're telling me the original iphone is less powerful hardware wise than that phone?

I'm not personally upset the phone doesn't have it. I own a 3G, mine has MMS, and I will probably never use it. I'm just pointing out that Apple has a habit of making excuses for itself for not including features in products just to get people to buy new hardware. I may not care about MMS, but that doesn't mean there aren't millions of others out there who do, and to force them to upgrade their hardware for a common feature that you failed to put in your phone for 2 years isn't very consumer friendly.

I have MMS on my 3GS and i dont use it. If i want to send a pic I email it and i dont have to worry about it being resized.

That doesn't help those that want MMS, but the real reason Apple didn't include it, is so they can drive product upgrades. Most owners of 1st Gen iPhones, bought them 2 years ago. Apple is a hardware company too, and they want to sell new phones. If 3G speed wasn't enough to get users to upgrade, they have to hold something out.

Every new TV is generally better then the previous year's model. My Phillips no longer gets software updates either.

Truth is, this is a marketing decision. Next years iPhone will have even more features then the last 3 versions and not all new features will be backed ported.