MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service)

MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service, a technology that allows you to create, send, and receive text messages that also include an image, audio, and/or video clip. MMS messages are sent from one mobile phone to another, or to an email address.

What's in it for me?

Multimedia messaging enriches your mobile messages in much the same way as inserting photos or changing fonts and colors does in email - it's both useful and expressive.

MMS messages are sometimes considered equivalent to so-called "picture messaging," popularized by the recent imaging phones boom, but other uses of the technology do exist.

How does it work?

You don't need to have an imaging phone to send and receive MMS messages, just an MMS-enabled mobile phone, an operator agreement that supports the service, and the correct settings on your handset. Of course, an imaging phone gives you the option of creating and passing on your original images.

An MMS message is a multimedia presentation in a single entry, unlike an email with attachments, making it easier to create and simpler to deliver than an email with attachments. MMS is a scalable technology, which means it's suitable for most types of mobile phones. And MMS is compatible with fixed email addresses, so it is possible to criss-cross back and forth over the mobile-PC border.

Show what you mean

• Document that dent in your fender, house for sale, ideal location, or celebrity sighting and pass it on
• Send and receive multimedia messages while abroad with MMS roaming
• Set preferences to, for example, receive business messages only during the day and personal messages only after office hours
• Use images, clips or text as content - the fewer the images, the more room for text.
• Got a moblog? There are applications available that let you post an MMS directly to a website  

Ready-made digital content and services

• Download applications such as photo editors, templates, previewers, multi-page MMS enablers, and graphics
• Subscribe to image- or video-based services that send weather reports, sports highlights, financial information, jokes, and more, straight to your phone 

Get personal

• Edit your images and clips before you send them
• Create your own full-color wallpaper for your phone display from MMS images
• Design mobile business cards, greeting cards, and invitations to send via MMS 

Frequently Asked Questions: MMS.       1. What is MMS? MMS, short for Multimedia Messaging Service, is a messaging technology that lets you send still images, video, and voice or audio clips in addition to the familiar text content of SMS. MMS is very similar to short message service (SMS), in that it provides automatic, immediate delivery of self-created content from phone to phone as well as from phone to email and vice versa. 2. Is MMS a wireless application protocol (WAP) browser application? MMS does not use WAP browsers in any way. The MMS application is a messaging application, whereas WAP is used for browsing applications. 3. Is MMS a Nokia proprietary service or a standardized service? MMS is an open standard, standardized by the WAP Forum and 3GPP. The 3GPP specification defines the network architecture and general functions. The WAP Forum specification defines message encapsulation and application protocols. Existing transport protocols are used for delivery of messages.   4. Does MMS require changes in the network? MMS is primarily targeted at phone-to-phone communication. The possibility will always exist that the message cannot be delivered due to the receiving phone being switched off, having an empty battery, or poor network coverage. A new network element, the multimedia messaging service center (MMSC) has been created for storing undelivered MMS messages until the receiving phones can be reached. In addition, the MMSC enables delivery of services and network interconnection to e-mail. Nokia and several other manufacturers produce MMSCs. 5. What content types does MMS support? The following supported media types are recommended: JPEG, GIF, text, AMR voice, video H263, and some other formats. To achieve interoperability, Nokia and some other manufacturers have agreed upon an MMS Conformance Document that lists the minimum set of content types to be supported by an MMS phone. However, the MMS standards do not mandate any specific content format(s). Instead, an MMS is encapsulated in a standard way, so that the recipient's phone can identify those content formats it does not support, and handle them in a controlled way. This is also the solution used for content interoperability on the Internet. 6. How big can an MMS message be? The standard does not specify a maximum size for an MMS. This is done to ensure future interoperability and to avoid limitations similar to the 160-character limit with SMS. The message size also depends on operators, who may set a standardized message size for billing purposes. The Nokia standard, in the first phase, is a maximum of 100 kB.   7. How fast is an MMS transmission? The MMS transmission is dependent on both the message size and the bearer used. Sending a larger video clip will take longer than a simple image-plus-text. However, since the recipient is rarely aware of the ongoing transmission before the whole message has been delivered, he or she will usually perceive no delay at all. 8. Can you send an MMS to a Nokia phone that doesn't have the MMS feature? Yes, if that phone supports SMS and the operator offers this service. Nokia non-multimedia terminal support identifies the recipient's phone as a non-MMS phone, and the message is stored on a Web page instead of being sent to the phone. An SMS is then sent to the non-MMS phone with the address to the web page where the message can be retrieved. Check with your operator to see if they offer this service. 9. Can you send an MMS to a phone with a black-and-white display? A substantial part of MMS content is color images. So a color display is better to enjoy the full MMS experience. Yet, any MMS-enabled phone can, in theory, receive an MMS. There are several ways to present color images using dithering on black-and-white displays and, to a limited extent, a representation of the color image can be made on a black-and-white display.