Sending MMS messages

Sending an MMS message isn't much different from sending a text message. Launch Messages, and tap the New Message button in the topright corner of the Message screen. You'll see a small camera icon next to the Send field. This button is for sending still images or movies via MMS.

Sending images or video

Sending an image or video is simple. On an iOS device that has a camera, a sheet appears, offering three buttons: Take Photo or Video, Choose Existing, and Cancel. (If you have an older iOS device without a camera, you see a Photos window instead and can choose an image there.) Tap Take a Photo or Video, and the Camera app launches. If you're already familiar with it, you're well on your way. Just tap the Camera/Record button to capture what you want, and if you like what you've taken, tap Use (or Retake if you'd like to try again). The image or movie is attached to your message, ready to send.

If you tap the second button-Choose Existing-the Photo Albums screen appears, listing all the photos and videos on your iPhone or iPod touch. tip I find it helpful to add a subject heading to messages that contain images or movies. You can expose a Subject field by tapping Messages in the Settings screen and flicking the Show Subject Field switch to On. Then, to enter a subject, return to the Messages app; tap the Subject field that appears above your attached media; and enter a subject.

Sending audio

You can also send audio files that you've recorded with the Voice Memos application via MMS.

Launch Voice Memos.
By default in iOS 4 and iOS 5, you'll find this app's icon in the Utilities folder on the device's Home screen.
Tap the red Record button, and start speaking to record your memo.
Tap the button in the bottom-right corner of the screen (which displays a black square during recording) to stop recording.
Tap that same button, which now displays three lines, to open the Voice Memos screen.
Tap a voice memo that you'd like to use as an MMS message.
Tap the Share button at the bottom of the screen and then tap the Message button that appears.
Messages launches, with your voice memo embedded in the Send field of a new message.
Address the message.
Enter a subject (if you've switched on that option in the Messages setting screen; see the tip in the preceding section).
Tap Send to send the audio MMS message.

Receiving messages

When it receive a message, the iPhone or iPod touch alerts you through a notification. The kind of notification you get depends on how you've configured the Notification setting. An iPod touch can alert you in multiple ways at the same time: You can hear a sound, see an alert or banner, view the notification in the Lock screen, and see a badge on the Messages icon that indicates the number of unread messages. The iPhone can additionally notify you by vibrating when it receives a message.

To view your messages, just tap the Messages app or the alert you just received. If you tap the Messages app, you should see a list of all the messages you've received, with unread messages marked with blue dots. If you tap an alert, you'll be taken directly to the message that just came in.

Sending replies

Regardless of how you navigate to a message, to reply to it, you enter the text in the Send field with the device's keyboard and then tap Send. (The MMS Camera icon appears next to this field as well.) If you'd like to let other people know that you've read their messages, open the Messages setting, and enable the Send Read Receipts option.

Make the keyboard disappear by swiping down in the message area, and you'll see some buttons at the top of the screen. Which buttons you see depend on who the sender is and the kind of device you're using. If you have an iPhone, and you're texting with someone over SMS, those buttons read Call, FaceTime, and Add Contact (if this person isn't in your list of contacts) or Contact (if she's in your contacts). If you're using iMessage to text, the first button reads Email. On an iPod touch, you don't have the option to call the person, so the buttons read Email, FaceTime, and either Add Contact or Contact.

The buttons do exactly what they suggest. Tap Call on an iPhone, and you place a call to this contact. Tap Email, and a new email message appears, addressed to that person. Tap FaceTime to initiate a FaceTime call (if you're connected to a Wi-Fi network). Tap Add Contact to either create a new contact or add information to an existing contact. Finally, tap Contact to view the person's contact information stored on your device.

Deleting and forwarding messages

To delete entries from the Messages list, just tap the Edit button; then tap the red minus icon, and tap Delete. The swipe-and-delete trick works here, too. Just swipe your finger to the left or right across the message entry, and tap the Delete button that appears.

You can also delete or forward portions of a message conversation. To do so, follow these steps:

Tap a conversation that you'd like to edit.
It appears in a separate screen, with the name of the recipient at the top.
Tap the Edit button in the top-right corner.
Tap the circle next to the portions of the conversation that you want to delete or forward.
Delete the selected portion by tapping the Delete button at the bottom of the window.
To forward a selection, tap the Forward button. When you tap Forward, a New Message screen appears.
In the To field, add the recipients and/or phone numbers (if you're using an iPhone) for your forwarded message.
When you're ready to send the forwarded message, just tap the Send button.

Messages can also contain live links. If someone places a phone number in a message, for example, and if you have an iPhone, you can tap that number to call it. (This shortcut won't work on an iPod touch, of course.) Email addresses, URLs, and physical addresses are live too. Tap an email address, and Mail opens with a message addressed to that person. Tap a URL, and Safari launches, taking you to that site. Tap a street address, and Maps opens to reveal that location in Google Maps. And, of course, media such as still images, videos, and audio files appear and/or play in all their glory when tapped.