Stinsonddog’s Blackberry Instant Messaging Reveiw

My purpose here is not to review every application that provides IM on the Blackberry. I feature a few products that I think will work for the vast majority of people. I currently use these products and can highly recommend them.

One thing about IM clients on the Blackberry is that like many third party applications, they work best if you are on a Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) with Mobile Data Services enabled (MDS). With these you should have no problems using the IM clients. All of these services act as gateways to the common networks like Yahoo, Google Talk, etc. One of the major differences in the applications is the pricing. The best subscription based service is WebMessenger $34.95/year -10% off with "Stinsonddog” discount code) and the best one time fee application is (IM+ 49.95). Ultimately some people don't want to pay for subscriptions, unless there is a reason such as additional features or reliability. I choose all of these to review because they provide multi-network access in a single client. I am happy with all three of these applications, and my review will highlight some of the differences. If you want basic information on IM on the Blackberry, look to the post in Mark Rejhon's Blackberry IM FAQ for some basics. Verichat is no longer being sold for those of you that have heard of that application.

Basic features common to both applications

• Provides always-on (background mode) multi-network access in a single application. You can simultaneously chat on AOL, MSN, Yahoo, Google and others from a single application on your handheld.
• You can chat while using the phone and email
• Can modify online status information (online, busy, away, and not available), and create your own custom notification.
• Contact List View options
• Import your chat friends from your public IM networks friend lists.
• Manage your friends (add, drop, edit) from the handheld.
• Use predefined or canned messages
• Set up custom notifications and alerts (tone, vibration) for new inbound messages and when friends come online.
• Display current chat message history with timestamps.
• Email addresses and Web URLs in conversations are automatically hyperlinked
• Uses you BlackBerry unlimited data plan (assuming you are on BES), so you will not be charged extra from your carrier for the instant messaging.

Ok that was the easy part. The hard part is identifying the differences in the programs. Here are some comparisons and features that can help you decide which application might be right for you. These features are in addition to the ones above. As a general comment, Webmessenger has the most user setting choices. IM+ keeps it simple on the BB. That can be good.

IM+'s features (version 3.2.1) include:

• MSN, Yahoo!, ICQ, AOL, Jabber and Google Talk in one application.
• Save settings for multiple accounts with a single service.
• Send SMS via Yahoo.
• Conferencing in MSN.
• Ability to send e-mail to offline MSN users.
• Message History: Search, Filter: by date, by sender; Timestamp.
• Custom style settings - various color schemes
• Autoconfigurator (setup the best optimal network configuration).
• Some shortcuts to next dialog, open dialog, background and exit using the Alt key. The next version is supposed to have shortcuts to Emoticons and Predefined messages.

WebMessenger's features include:

• AOL, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ and Jabber in one application. You can sign in to all of these services, using one User ID per services with one Webmessenger account. They have a nice clean interface to concurrently view and manage multiple, concurrent IM chats over one or multiple IM services.
• Webmessenger has an effective message history allowing the user to easily jump back into a conversation they had closed or starting up again from the last time they chatted with that person
• Desktop Messenger client to assist you in configuration and allow a single IM desktop client
• Organize Contacts from the handheld into personalized groups for easy recognition and access.
• Shows your status at the top of the screen but doesn't save your custom status.
• Built in Chess Game included.
• Most choices for configuration (a plus and minus)

Here are the improvements I would like to see these IM clients work on.

· Shortcuts to Emoticons and Predefined Messages - IM+ HAS THESE NOW - You all know I am big on shortcuts. These applications should have keyboard shortcuts to the Emoticons and Predefined Message Lists. The idea of IM is quick communication, and these shortcuts would make the communication faster. The Emoticons should be grouped by Service (Yahoo, MSN etc) as not all Emoticons show up as such with all services. In addition, the Emoticons should show up as such on the IM screen if that is possible. They currently show up as there keystroke shortcuts. Also in the Emoticons list, the keyboard shortcut should be shown when an Emoticon is highlighted, more like Blackberry Messenger.

· Custom Status - The apps should allow you to both save custom status messages, and they should show your status at the top of the screen like Webmessenger does. I like to be able to mark my current status as "On my Blackberry."

· History - Invariably the IM clients will get disconnected. In that case I would like to be able to retrieve in a more easy fashion the prior session history for a given day or time slot, so if I do get disconnected I can see where I left off. Webmessenger and IM+ have good history functions.

· Home Screen indicator- Blackberry Messenger has an icon on the home screen if a message has been received. I like this simple, unobtrusive way to know a message is waiting. I would like to see the IM clients utilize this.

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