iPhone’s SMS Features- and Omissions- Revealed
by Russell Shaw
Website Mac Rumors has gotten hold of an Apple iPhone sales training manual for AT&T retail store employees.
The main purpose of this resource is to give folks at those AT&T (Cingular) freestanding and mall stores enough info about the iPhone’s unique features so that they will be able to answer customer’s questions starting now, and especially during and after the initial sales date of June 29.
What’s even better, Mac Rumors has obtained scans of relevant pages in the manual.
And what about the iPhone’s SMS? The overarching pitch seems to be:
“iPhone includes an SMS messaging application with a predictive QWERTY soft keyboard that prevents and corrects mistakes, making it easier and more efficient to use than the small plastic keyboards on many devices.”
A look at the main SMS page tells us that the main SMS features in the iPhone - as those that are not in the highly anticipated handset- are being positioned as:
SMS text message button shows how many new messages are waiting;
Threaded conversations;
Hear an audio alert for new messages;
Error correction and prevention in the keyboard. Only displayed when you need it.
Limitations:
iPhone users will not be able to conduct IM conversations with instant messaging users;
Does not support MMS messaging for photos or videos.
And as to comparisions with messaging capabilities on other AT&T devices, the manual says:
iPhone messaging will differ from current AT&T messaging offerings in the following ways:
*SMS text messages on the iPhone will “look” like instant messaging;
*Phone users will not be able to conduct IM conversations with instant messaging users, and
iPhone doesn’t support MMS messaging for photos or videos.
