After the slow SMS start in U.S. it's now the time for a slow MMS start

The Forbes Magazine discusses what's wrong with this picture. What users don't know about the limits on MMS, and how things don't quite work the way it should.

"The camera phone has a dirty little secret: Most of the time, users can't exchange pictures the way that they do on TV commercials.

Despite the fact that 10 million camera phones are expected to ship by the end of this year, the communiqués featured on TV are actually only possible between people who use the same carrier.

And even then, the process doesn't quite work as advertised. Quite a few keypad clicks are required to see the photo sent. "The thing that people want, where you send a picture and it pops up on someone else's screen, doesn't exist yet," says IDC analyst Keith Waryas."

The article explains how SMS increased when interconnection was completed and how the network operators are still behind on MMS. It seems like the lesson from the previous generation didn't get through.