One thing that has been notably missing from the iPhone is the ability to use MMS. Sure, the SMS has a great interface, but you still can’t send picture messages through it. And while you can e-mail photos to your friends, that can be cumbersome at times. But what the iPhone can’t do, an iPhone app just might.

Palringo is an application that syncs up with your instant messaging accounts and lets you send text and picture instant messages over the iPhone. The real bonus here is you don’t rack up SMS charges–it goes over your EDGE/3G/WiFi networks. 

Now, I like this app. It’s pretty neat with a nice interface that’s easy to navigate. I only have one qualm, but it’s a doozy. 

Even though you can send picture messages, they don’t immediately pop up on your friend’s screen. Instead, they are sent a link to the picture and they have to click on it to see your picture. Ehh, not exactly picture messaging, now is it? Why not just e-mail or use Flickr? Kind of defeats the whole purpose and convenience of built-in picture messaging if you ask me. 

One cool thing is that you can take a picture right this second and it will send in the IM. But then again, you could always take a picture and e-mail it right this second, too. (As a bonus, you can see a frightening image of me demonstrating this feature below the fold. 

So, I guess what I’m saying is that this attempt at convenience certainly is appreciated, but it’s not quite there yet. Built in MMS would do the trick, but that would mean more charges from AT&T and who wants that?