iOS4: Sending Group Messages
August 12, 2010
One of the newest (and least talked about) new features of iOS 4 is group messaging. Located under the iPhone's Settings > Messages, this feature is an interesting enhancement.
Generally speaking, group messaging allows users to send the same text message to more than one person at the same time. Not only does this cut down on the time it takes to type a message, but it could save you money. According to AT&T, if you sent a group message to five people, for example, you would only be charged for one text message. Since many AT&T subscribers might not care about the cost savings (many of us have unlimited texting as part of our data package), it's still nice to know the feature exists.
- The Group Messaging setting controls whether or not the complete address list is sent to each recipient in the group.
- When set to OFF each recipient only sees you and their name in the thread, but when set to ON things change depending on the recipient’s settings.
- If the recipient has Group Messaging turned ON then all recipients are shown on that person’s phone.
- When a recipient of the message responds it is automatically sent to all members of the original thread.
- All messages within the group are placed into a single thread, with each message identified with the sender’s name.
AT&T says that the iPhone is the only device it sells that offers group messaging as a feature. What do you think? Is this something you'd use? Let us know in the comments below.
