Microblogging phenomenon Twitter has added support for MMS picture messaging to its service – but only for UK users.
Twitter has allowed users to update their status on the go with text messages for a long time, which is partially credited with its success, allowing users to tell people what they’re doing at almost any time of the day or night providing they had their phone on them, but there was no similar support for pictures. Consequently, sites such as Twitpic and Twitxr have been used when people feel the need to share their pictures, and while they work fine, the ability to post pictures directly from phones via MMS would certainly offer more convenience for users who aren’t equipped with smartphones like BlackBerry’s or iPhones.
UK mobile service provider Orange have now implemented a direct-to-Twitter MMS service, answering the prayers of many Tweeters, allowing them to not only update their status via text but also to share their pictures for the same cost as a regular MMS. The service is currently only available to customers of Orange UK, though with the merging of Orange and T-Mobile, it could well spread to other regions and networks.
It’s as easy to use as sending a normal multimedia message to the number 86444, and costs no more to send than a standard MMS.
With Twitter now having support for direct picture messaging in the UK (the first direct service in the world, according to Twitter’s blog), it’s likely that the services’ usage will continue to grow throughout the UK and the rest of the world, when their service providers catch up.
Related posts: