Apple iMessage reportedly suffers sporadic worldwide outages

Source: Apple

Despite displaying an "all clear" on its iCloud status website, iMessage users form around the world are complaining of sporadic service outages, according to reports from Apple's online Support Communities on Monday.

While the exact problem is currently unknown, it appears to be originating at Apple's servers as some users claim wireless provider-based SMS text messages are going through without issue. No effective workarounds have been found thus far, and Apple has yet to comment on the matter.

First introduced with iOS 5, the BlackBerry Messenger-esque iMessage, previously iMessage, has become Apple's smartphone-integrated answer to online messaging services like AOL Instant Messenger and Google Chat. The service is data based, allowing Wi-Fi connected iOS device users to communicate without racking up text fees. With OS X Mountain Lion, Apple expanded iMessage to Macs, and the operating system's upcoming 10.8.2 update will bring extended functionality like phone number support.

Monday's iMessage issues come on the heels of an iCloud email outage last week that affected 1.1 percent of the service's user base.