A few days ago, I heard through the grape vine that SwirlyMMS was going to be releasing a significant update to their application. Well, it seems that this is indeed true. SwirlyMMS 2.1 is in the works (actually it’s in the beta testing faze). The update will include some cool new features:

1) Compatible with iPhoneOS 3.0
2) MMSes can now be “categorized” into folders and subfolders. The folders and subfolders are customizable and messages can be moved between folders.
3) Support for 3GP videos on iPhoneOS 3.0.
5) A completely new message browser.
4) The GUI has been optimized leaving it faster and more alert.

It will cost $6.00 to upgrade (from SwirlyMMS 1.x) or $12.00 to purchase the app. There will be no cost to upgrade if you already have SwirlMMS 2.0.x.

They also have plans for a SwirlyMMS 2.2 which will allow SwirlyMMS users to send messages for free to other SwirlyMMS users! The messages will be sent over the SwirlyNet for no additional cost…yep, free. So, that is something to look forward to!

There is no exact ETA on when we will see SwirlyMMS 2.1 in Cydia but, I’m guessing it wont be too long…I know there are a lot of you waiting! The update will be released via the Ste Packaging source.

Hello iPhone People…that is supposed to be read like they say, “Hello Miami” like at concerts and what not. Ok, maybe that only happens in the movies anyway, moving on! It seems that SwirlyMMS, an app that allows multimedia text messaging, has finally made it’s way to the 2.0+ firmware…YAY!. This is very exciting for those of you who can use it! I’m still trying to find a way to get it to work with AT&T but, it does have a new icon!

When you open SwirlyMMS, it will default to the Inbox screen but will then take you to the info screen. On the info screen you will see the options Get Demo and and Arrow. In order to use the application, you will need to request a demo. All you have to do it tap the Demo button and it will automatically “fetch” you a demo license. The first time I tried it…it failed but I just hit the Get Demo option again and it worked fine.

Once you have a demo, you can use SwirlyMMS for 14 days. It then costs $8.00 USD to purchase the application. Once you have your demo you can then select the arrow button and it will bring you to the Inbox screen where you can see your Inbox, Outbox, Sent and Trash. On the lower menu bar there are three options. The “i” will bring you back to the Info screen, the Tools icon will bring you to the Settings page (which is almost exactly the same as it was in the previous version) and the New SMS icon will allow you to create a new SMS. The interface is really nice. You are easily able to add Pictures from your Camera Roll, take a picture, add text to the message and send a file from your iPhone. You can even see all the multimedia files you are sending by selecting the Media Parts option.

As lovely as the interface seems to look and feel, I can’t tell you for sure how well it works! You guys will have to let me know in the comments if the new version is working well. I hope that it is!! SwirlyMMS is available though the Ste Packaging source in Cydia.

Note: I received an email from the developer of SwirlyMMS (which I did not read before writing this post, my bad!) and I guess the biggest news for the new version of SwirlyMMS is that you can now, “send and receive MMSs using an iPhone3G.” So, not only can people with first generations iPhone on the 2.0+ firmware use SwirlyMMS but also people with 3G iPhones. I personally had assumed that would be the case (which I probably shouldn’t have done) but, it is good to know!

Note: Since the last time I did a review of this application, it has really improved! There are now Inbox, Outbox, Sent and Trash options which make make navigating your text messages much easier. They have also made adding media to a text message quick and simple through little buttons. I think it is a great improvement…it looks very clean and user friendly (see screenshots below). Also, it is now only a 14 day trial after that the app costs $8.00 USD.

Note: Ok, I did some searching and according to the developer this version, “hopefully solves the problem of an immediate crash when starting it that some users have suffered from. Apart from that it is a little bit quicker in setting up the MMS specific APN etc.” Let us know.

Note: You can get all the info on how to install/set-up this app on the Developer’s website.

Note: This app has changed it’s name, icon and repository source. It is now called SwirlyMMS (previously just MMS) and is available in the Ste Packaging source (previously the ModMyiFone.com source).

Using SwirlyMMS
This app allows you to send images via text messaging. To create a new text just tap the New MMS button in the upper right corner. You can then title you Text, enter the recipient and choose the image you would like to send. To add a title, just tap in the space next to Title and begin typing. To add your recipient just tap on the blue plus button next to To:..this will bring up your Contact List and you can tap on the contact you would like to add. You can not send to multiple contacts at this time. To pick the image you would like to send, just tap the plus button next to File:. This brings up your Camera Roll and you can scroll through your pics until you find the one you would like to send. Once you find the image you would like to send, tap on it and then you will need to tap Pick in the top right corner to actually choose the image. You are only able to send one image at a time. (I do find that it takes a little time to get used to how the images show up…you kind of get a vertical thumbnail of the image and as you scroll down it opens up to the full image. It is nice that you get to see the whole image but, I think I would rather just have a thumbnail and quickly scroll through all of them.) Once you are finished…tap Send to send the image. Check out the screenshots below!

Setting up SwirlyMMS
Now, before you actually use this app…you need to set it up. You will notice a Settings button in the lower right corner of the main screen. When you tap on Settings you will get a new screen with all the information you will need to set up such as; your MMSC, Proxy, APN, username and password. You are also able to select what size you would like your images to be when you send them…the options are Maximum which will not resize your pic, High which is about 300kB with a resolution of 600×800, Medium which is about 100kB with a resolution of 300×400, Low which is about 25kB with a resolution of 300×400 and Minimum which is about 8kb with a resolution of 150×200. From the Settings menu you can also choose to erase all of your sent history!

To get information on how to configure MMS to work for you check out the Developer’s site and scroll down until you see Configure MMS server and APN settings.

Can and Cannot’s of SwirlyMMS
It can send images via text messaging

It cannot receive images via test messaging
It cannot send any other files…like text, songs or movies
And as far as I can tell it cannot send to multiple contacts or send multiple images.
However, these are all things that I’m sure we will see in future update!!