iMessages do not count against your phone plan's text messages, and they are/can be/(always?) routed through the internet if you are connected. If you have unlimited texting on your phone plan, then no big deal, but if you pay by the text message or have some texting limit, then iMessages can save you some money.Charles L. Cotton wrote:...When an iPhone sends a text to another iPhone, the message is automatically converted to an iMessage. (I have no idea why this is done, unless to cause the very problems it is causing.) ...
Chas.
Since my wife and I both had iPhones, as well as my employer, this saved us some $$ -- I didn't bother to pay for any text messaging plans. Wasn't until it became a more widespread practice in my VFD to communicate by text messaging (and my wife picked up some friends that didn't have iPHones) that I had to break down and pay for unlimited texting.
Interesting note about turning off iMessage before ditching the phone tho -- I am about to upgrade us to newer phones, will have to remember this.