iCloud doesn't poll your phone every damn minute to check if it still has that number's SIM card inserted
The author even acknowledges it's a bug, and still calls it a "lock-in"
Secondly, iMessage and SMS messages are, with the exception for colourblind people, very distinctive: if you can't tell the difference between blue and green, you have an issue. The fact that it took a director to figure this out astounds me.
Thirdly, the author's insinuation that the senders iPhone "intercepts" a text is false: the phone knows there is an iMessage compatible device associated with this number (consider the recievers service being cut, but they keep the phone on WiFi), and so it sends it as an iMessage. It's not actively going "Oh this user has swapped to an Android device, let's piss him off in every way possible and treat this text as an iMessage, that'll get him!", it's working with the data it has in an attempt to be helpful to the receiver: they've run out of PAYG credit and can no longer sustain a data connection, but are in range of WiFi, so iMessage still stays online. It is trying to be helpful to the user, not a massive wanker
Admittedly, they should check to see if a SIM card is still in the phone on boot, then register with iMessage
In comparison to BBM, the only reason this is considered "lock-in" is because texts and iMessages are in the same place instead of two separate places
Disable iMessage and turn the damn iPhone off for a week, then if that fails, run to an Apple Store
Also, don't assume the worst, you will somewhere along the line regret it, and wonder "what if". You don't want to be on your deathbed with regrets
P.S. if someone reading this has access to Apple's fabled Bug Reporter/Radar, file this behaviour as a "bug", or, if you're in a baiting mood, "lock-in feature". I would if I could.
I believe the author can just turn off iMessage on the iPhone and it'll solve the problem. In fact, simply turning off the WiFi is probably enough as well.
In other words, this issue only occurs when a user switches away from iPhone as their primary phone but continues to use the iPhone for other purposes.
iMessage happily works over 3G without issues. I love iMessage. I can contact my brothers and sister in The Netherlands using iMessage and it doesn't cost me anything more than a data plan. I can send pictures without having to worry about international costs for MMS.
iMessage is a lock-in for me mainly because I love the features it provides me and the connectivity to my family. It is simpler than getting everyone set up on WhatsApp or Skype for example (Skype is terrible for battery life on the iPhone as well) and just works.
You can however as you stated turn off iMessage on the iPhone entirely, at which point the Apple iMessage server will simply tell your friends you are not available on iMessage and send it over standard text.
As I understand it, basically. Granted, I've never used BBM before.
If you try to text someone with iMessage, it will send them an iMessage instead of a text (assuming you have iMessaging capabilities). Aside from being free, the only other real difference seems to be typing notifications.
There is also upcoming/beta desktop client integration coming with Mountain Lion, fwiw.
Except I don't think BBM ever made text messages look like BBM messages. Does iMessage show you a "read" mark like bbm or what's app?
I would agree that any device only messaging system (BBM/iMessage) are probably things to stay away from if you value an easy future choice without telling everyone to stop using the old method.
The author had already disabled cell service on the iPhone, which is why disabling WiFi should be a sufficient alternative to stop the phone from receiving iMessages.
I thought the point of the article was that if the person sending the text has iMessage enabled, there's no way for the author (the receiver) to prevent it going to the old device.
That was the author's assumption, but it's not correct. iMessage requires both the sender and the recipient to have compatible devices with iMessage enabled.
Even putting your iPhone in Airplane Mode will cause you to receive all your text messages via SMS rather than iMessage.
You can turn off iMessage in Settings -> Messages -> iMessage (turn slider to off).
At that point you will no longer be able to send iMessage's and you will no longer be able to receive them. The thing is that the iPhone when first activated reads the number from the SIM card/carrier and sets that up as an iMessage address. Apple is never pinged when you move your number away from your carrier unless you re-activate your phone with a different SIM card (I still am not happy you can't activate the phone without having a carrier plan ... yay Jailbreaks!).
In the article he mentions unregistering his devices/phone from Apple's website, that will work until the next time that his phone pings the iMessage server and re-registers itself (disable iMessage first ... it unregisters the device). I personally would say that is working as designed, if I unregister all of my devices, if I turn one on to use for texting it should re-register itself automatically.
The author lost me when contemplating the switch. Nearly a grand invested in a device after "upgrading" at a cost of $450? If they purchased a 64GB model, the cost would be around that, but they could have had their "IT Director" sell that phone for more than $450. They probably would have gotten into a new Verizon contract with a net iPhone investment of just a few hundred bucks.
Sounds like a pile of excuses leading into some Android-related promotion, and coming from a "VC" it does not surprise.
Sounds like a pile of excuses leading into some Android-related promotion, and coming from a "VC" it does not surprise.
Android-related promotion? Where? In fact, I would wager right now that the threat that "I’ll drop a full post on my iPhone to Android experience in the near future." will turn into yet another lambasting of Android because it isn't just like iOS. We've seen about four dozen of them, but each new one mysteriously still is treated like the words of a seer.
I like iMessage, but it can be confusing. I send a message from my Mac or iPad and replies show up in my iPhone, iPad, and Mac. If I left the sound on for all my devices it becomes caucauphonus.
Any device that you have set to respond to certain addresses will indeed be receiving the message. The whole point is to have some fluidity between devices, so you can start a conversation on the couch with your iPad, and then move to your phone when you are walking down the aisle at the grocery store.
One more reason to purchased an unlockable device from a HW manufacturer like htc or samsung. These limitations are bad for consumers and bad for innovation.
Yes, I can totally see how paying for SMS is better than using iMessage for consumers and innovation.
Not to mention that the whole "iMessages go the the old iPhone device" which he mentions is a bug that will addressed, and also happens when moving from older to newer iPhones.
iCloud doesn't poll your phone every damn minute to check if it still has that number's SIM card inserted
The author even acknowledges it's a bug, and still calls it a "lock-in"
Secondly, iMessage and SMS messages are, with the exception for colourblind people, very distinctive: if you can't tell the difference between blue and green, you have an issue. The fact that it took a director to figure this out astounds me.
Thirdly, the author's insinuation that the senders iPhone "intercepts" a text is false: the phone knows there is an iMessage compatible device associated with this number (consider the recievers service being cut, but they keep the phone on WiFi), and so it sends it as an iMessage. It's not actively going "Oh this user has swapped to an Android device, let's piss him off in every way possible and treat this text as an iMessage, that'll get him!", it's working with the data it has in an attempt to be helpful to the receiver: they've run out of PAYG credit and can no longer sustain a data connection, but are in range of WiFi, so iMessage still stays online. It is trying to be helpful to the user, not a massive wanker
Admittedly, they should check to see if a SIM card is still in the phone on boot, then register with iMessage
In comparison to BBM, the only reason this is considered "lock-in" is because texts and iMessages are in the same place instead of two separate places
Disable iMessage and turn the damn iPhone off for a week, then if that fails, run to an Apple Store
Also, don't assume the worst, you will somewhere along the line regret it, and wonder "what if". You don't want to be on your deathbed with regrets
P.S. if someone reading this has access to Apple's fabled Bug Reporter/Radar, file this behaviour as a "bug", or, if you're in a baiting mood, "lock-in feature". I would if I could.