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As with SMS and EMS (Enhanced Messaging Serv-
ice), an MMS message can consist of normal text.
The length of the text is unlimited. The main differ-
ence between an EMS and MMS message is that in
an MMS message, text can be accompanied not
only by simple pixel images or melodies but by
photographic images, graphics, audio clips and
video clips.
Templates
The phone comes with a number of MMS pre-
defined templates, for example templates for birth-
day cards, meeting requests etc.
Audio
MMS provides the ability to send and receive full
sound (MIDI, MP3, iMelody, AMR) messages. Not
only can users share a favorite song or Music tone
with a friend, they can also use the mobile phone to
record a sound and send it along with a message.
As sound includes speech as well as music, this
extra dimension to an MMS message allows for a
spontaneous and immediate personal expression
in communication messaging. Rather than sending
a downloaded birthday jingle in EMS, a user can,
for example, send a clip of his or her own personal
rendition of "Happy Birthday". The phone supports
the MIDI format.
Pictures and themes
By using the integrated camera, users can take a
picture or video clip and immediately send it to a
recipient. The ability to send pictures is one of the
most exciting attributes of MMS, as it allows users
to share meaningful moments with friends, family
and colleagues.
Mobile picture transmission also offers inestimable
utility in business applications, from sending on-
site pictures of a construction project to capturing
and storing an interesting design concept for later
review. Editing a picture by adding text allows
users to create their own electronic postcards, an
application that is expected to substantially cut into
the traditional postcard market.
Themes (downloaded or pre-defined) can be
exchanged via MMS.
PIM communication with MMS
By using MMS, it is easy to handle PIM (Personal
Information Manager) information. The user can
send and receive business cards (vCard), calendar
entries such as appointments (vCal) and notes
(text/plain).
Streaming content in MMS
Streaming makes it possible to view files while they
are being downloaded to the phone. The MPEG-4
file format can be used for continuous media along
the entire delivery chain envisaged by the MMS,
independent of whether the final delivery is done by
streaming or download, thus enhancing interopera-
bility.
In particular, the following stages are considered:
• Upload from the originating terminal to the MMS
proxy.
• File exchange between MMS servers.
• Transfer of the media content to the receiving
terminal, either by file download or by stream-
ing. In the first case, the self-contained file is
transferred, whereas in the second case the
content is extracted from the file and streamed
according to open payload formats. In this case,
no trace of the file format remains in the content
that is transmitted over the wire or over the air.
Additionally, the MPEG-4 file format can be used
for storage in servers and the "hint track" mecha-
nism can be used to prepare for streaming.
MMS technical features
The MMS standard, just like that of SMS, offers
store-and-forward transmission (instant delivery) of
messages, rather than a mailbox-type model. MMS
is a person-to-person communications solution,
meaning that the user gets the message directly
into the mobile phone. He or she does not have to
call the server to get the message downloaded to
the mobile. Unlike SMS, the MMS standard uses
WAP as its bearer protocol. MMS will take advan-
tage of the high speed data transport technology
GPRS and support a variety of image, video and
audio formats to facilitate a complete communica-
tions experience.
Architecture
The MMS Center (MMS-C) is comprised of the
MMS Server, the MMS Proxy-Relay and the MMS
Store. The MMS Center is the central element of
19
White Paper
Z520
June 2005
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