One of the most frequently requested features for Apple’s iPhone is Multimedia Messaging (MMS). Seeing as practically every phone in the past five years has had the ability to send and receive photos and other media attached to a text message the lack of this functionality in the supposedly high-end iPhone has always seemed strange. Finally, in the UK at least, the problem has been solved.

MMS is an app that allows UK-based iPhone users on the O2 network to receive and send photographs using MMS as they could on any other phone. Until now O2 has sent a text alert to users when they’re sent an MMS. Users then had to visit a website and enter a PIN code in order to view the picture they’d been sent. A load of hassle, I’m sure you’ll agree. This new app, available now from the iPhone app store, makes thing a whole lot easier. By entering your phone number and PIN number into the app you’ll always be able to access your received messages as soon as you get the text alert from O2.

It gets better though. MMS, developed by Ed Lea and Ross McKillop, actually allows users to send MMS messages from their phones. It works seamlessly, with full integration with the iPhone’s camera and gallery. There is, however a slight problem here. In order to send messages, the app uses the developer’s own MMS gateway and charges for sending. Messages can be bought via Paypal from within the app at a rate equivalent to 39p per message - a lot more expensive than MMS messages through mobile phone networks, which usually cost around the 25p mark. Still, if you’re desperate to send MMS messages from you iPhone it’s a price worth paying.

One of the reviews of the app on the iTunes Store suggest that because the developer needs users’ phone numbers and O2 PIN codes that they may be harvesting them for nefarious reasons. The PIN codes are actually useless unless they want to look at your MMS messages (why would they?) as MMS retrieval is all the PIN is used for. The only way this app could be being used to harvest data is for the combination of your phone number and other contact data (such as home address) which they’ll get when you buy an MMS bundle from them via Paypal. You could say that about any other online service that asks for payment by Paypal though so there’s no real reason to be particularly concerned here.

The app still lacks the less used aspects of MMS, namely video and audio attachments, but for most people MMS will be all they’ll need. Unfortunately, because the app uses O2’s MMS PIN system to work iPhone users on other networks will have to wait for local developers to work out a fix for them. It’s pretty clear that since Apple has approved this app they’ve no plans to bring MMS to the iPhone firmware any time soon.