September 16, 2004
Picture messaging - it's worse than you thought
Two years after the introduction of picture messaging in Europe, MMS is still a flop, according to IT Analysis.
"Network operators still gain 99 per cent of their data revenue from plain old text messaging.
It's not as if the original issues haven't been addressed: cost, interoperability and availability of handsets. Next year almost half of new handsets sold in the UK will feature a camera, up from around 26 per cent this year.
Carriers now offer more MMS bundles and intend to bring the cost of sending a picture message down to that of an SMS. They also solved most of their interoperability issues last spring.
MMS users are now struck with a new problem. If camera phones are to replace traditional cameras as the main snapper, photos need to be printed and stored. And a new problem has arisen. The photos that networks deliver don't match the megapixel images that users think they're sending."
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