My GF just updated to OS5 this afternoon. I sent her a text and my phone showed it in blue and indicated it was a iMessage. I had never seen this before. So I checked out iMessage online and see there are some negative comments. Particularly that once you're in, iMessage is messy to get out of. It's an attempt by Apple to route your SMS through their cloud I think and your normal SMS is messed up. So I turned it off in Settings/Messages.
THEN I called the GF to do some tests.
- I texted her it arrived pretty fast (iMessages off on my phone means it goes through as standard SMS)
- She texted me and it took about 6 minutes to get to my phone. Unacceptable. I think Apple stubbornly tries to send the message through iMessage (iCloud) and if it doen't go out then it sends it through SMS five minutes later
- I had her turn off iMessage at her phone. Another send from her and it goes through right away. Mine do too. All is well
I think that once an iMessage is sent and accepted then the two phones recognize each other as iMessage compatible and Apple tries to force you into using it.
Bottom line:
1) Turn off iMessage. Do it right away so others aren't hooked into this kooky business practice.
2) Tell your friends to do the same.