Re:Google says iMessage is too powerful
by X-Istence on Tuesday January 11, 2022 @09:29PM
(#29901548)
You can use iMessage with an Apple ID without having any phone numbers associated with it.
There's no carrier required at all with iMessage. With RCS you HAVE to have a carrier.
Re:Google says iMessage is too powerful
by blendergeek on Wednesday January 12, 2022 @08:59AM
(#29906347)
With iMessage, you must commit to doing business with one company as long as you use the service. That is vendor lock-in and is what Google is complaining about. With RCS, there is no one company that you must do business with to continue using they service.
Re:Google says iMessage is too powerful
by X-Istence on Wednesday January 12, 2022 @05:27PM
(#29913623)
That's the same with WhatsApp/Signal/Telegram/others... unlike email which was distributed.
I'd rather be locked into a phone number than locked to apple though.
And with iMessage you need to have an Apple account, at least for carriers you have choices.
Re:Google says iMessage is too powerful
by mgkimsal on Tuesday January 11, 2022 @10:20PM
(#29901873)
porting numbers is a royal PITA with some carriers. "legal" and "usable" are worlds apart, and the cost of screwing up a number port is potentially gigantic.
Re:Google says iMessage is too powerful
by blendergeek on Wednesday January 12, 2022 @01:15PM
(#29910713)
Porting numbers from one carrier to another is always possible (even it is "a royal PITA"). However, if I want to switch away from Apple, I will immediately lose the ability to use iMessage entirely. It is not just a PITA, it is completely impossible to switch providers when using iMessage.
But, there is no "carrier lock-in" (at least not in the USA). In the USA, carriers are legally required to allow users to port numbers to and from any carrier thus creating competition rather than lock-in.