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Nokia Chat bows out as Contacts on Ovi steps in
Nah, there was no inauguration ceremony for the departure of Nokia Chat and the swearing in of Contacts on Ovi, but there was a blog post penned by a Beta Labs staff member. For those totally into Nokia Chat, you may have noticed a dearth of updates over the past few months. Needless to say, that time was being spent honing the future release of Contacts for Ovi, a natural replacement and one that's fully compatible with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 / Series 40 handsets. Backwards compatibility with existing Nokia Chat clients was included, and you're being summoned by Nokia to give this app a shot and report back with your opinions. So, you down or what?
Adium users disconnected from MSN
Late yesterday evening, users of the latest build (1.3.2) of the Adium multiservice chat client found themselves unexpectedly at a loss -- connections to Microsoft's MSN IM service stopped being accepted as of about 8 pm Pacific Time, according to a post on the Adium blog. The cause appears to be some kind of change on the server side that is blocking Libpurple (the underlying Adium communications library) clients using version 15 of the MSN protocol, so Adium isn't the only app affected.Users are advised to either roll back to Adium 1.3.1, which uses an older library that's still working, or use the official Messenger 7 client instead. The Adium team says they'll update the post when they have more details. Update 4pm ET: Reports are that Adium's MSN connectivity is working again. Thanks to everyone who sent this in.[via SmokingApples]
Beejive IM updated to 2.0, includes audio messaging
Beejive IM [iTunes link], the Swiss army knife of instant messaging on the iPhone, was recently updated to version 2.0. Beejive allows you to connect with many different instant messaging services including: AIM, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN/Live, Myspace IM, and Yahoo messenger. This application was already top-notch in the previous versions and this new version just makes things a lot better. Let's take a look at each of the changes to Beejive. You are now able to send photos directly from your iPhone and have them show up in-line with the body of the chat. In addition, you can now easily see photos sent to your iPhone. Probably one of the coolest new features is the ability to record and send voice notes to your fellow chatters. Tapping on the toolbar at the top, which lists the current chat name, gets you four options. One of those options is a small microphone; tapping this icon makes your iPhone show a recording view, and instantly start recording audio. When you tap the stop button, your recording will be saved. You can play or record your voice note over again; if you want to send the voice note, tap the "Send" button and your voice note will be directly transferred to the current chat. In addition to being able to send/receive audio on your iPhone or iPod touch using Beejive 2.0, you can also receive and open multiple types of files, including: - Most image, audio, and video files - PDFs - Word documents - Excel spreadsheets - PowerPoint documents I found that once you receive these types of files, you can also forward them to another person on your buddy list. Once you accept the file transfer, you will get a small blue button that will give you more details about the file that you just received; when you are in this view, you will be able to tap the forward button and find another person to forward it to. By default, Beejive will use the default sounds for incoming/outgoing messages. These sounds are very similar to the sounds that iChat ships with; however, if you get tired of them, there is an option for you in this new version. You are now able to change the sounds in the Beejive section of Settings.app. Under "Sounds," you are able to change between default, AIM, and Yahoo sounds. I found that there were two settings for transferring files, and both are useful. Under the "File Transfer" section of Settings.app > Beejive, you are able to choose between two ways of sending files: post a link or direct send preferred. In my testing, version 2.0 of Beejive seemed extremely stable, and included features that made a big difference. I especially liked the ability to send/receive files right from the device. Beejive is available from the iTunes App Store for $15.99. While the price is high, this application is definitely worth it when you consider all of the capabilities you gain. %Gallery-40552%
Start iChat (or Adium) without logging into services
Have you ever wanted to open iChat or Adium to check a chat log, account setting, or other information, but didn't want to connect to your instant messaging services? Rob Griffiths at Macworld offers a great tip on how you can easily do this, and it won't annoy your online buddies with incessant signing on/off. Before clicking on iChat or Adium, hold down the shift key and continue holding it until the application launches. When the app opens, none of your accounts will be logged in. You can then manually login to individual accounts as necessary. Try it and see!
Mintpass' tiny Mintpad brings handwriting back from the 20th century
We can't remember the last time we stealthily scribbled a note to a coworker instead of shooting an IM, but Mintpass (a Korean firm founded by former iriver minds) believes some folks want to do both at once with Mintpad, a wireless handheld that's one part Nintendo DS, one part iPod, and another part Post-it note. Yes, it surfs the web on 802.11b/g WiFi and plays 4GB (or more with a microSD card) of music and videos on its sub-3-inch 320 x 240 display, but the draw is handwriting with a stylus. Don't pick it up if you're looking for handwriting recognition, though -- you just jot down notes the old fashioned way, though you can pass them over the internet to others who have their own Mintpads. We've seen a note or two saying you can pick one up in South Korea for ???198,000, or about $156.[Via Pocketables]
BeeJive Instant Messenger app now available for hefty price
If you used an iPhone before native applications came along, then you may have used BeeJive's web app for instant messaging. BeeJive [iTunes link] has now released a native application for the iPhone/iPod touch. Some of the features of BeeJive for iPhone are: 24/7 connectivity, but easy on battery life Get notifications via email even if the application is closed (you will need push email for this to work properly) Works with AIM, MSN, Yahoo, GoogleTalk, ICQ, Jabber, and MySpace IM (What? There's no FaceBook support?) Unicode support for chatting in any language Landscape typing supported Saves chat history, which you can email Send SMS messages through AIM or Yahoo Complete management of buddy lists Configure alerts, sounds, vibration, etc. Now, with a feature list like this, there also comes a price: $15.99. That's right ... sixteen dollars for an iPhone IM application! Despite the high price, the reviews on the App Store seem to be mostly positive -- when I wrote this post the application held a 4.5-start rating. According to the App Store listing, the developer plans to add emoticons, group chat support, and full support for hyperlink text. Here's to hoping this application gets a sale price in the future. %Poll-20309%Thanks, Zyber Joe!
Shape IM+ All-in-One Mobile Messenger for iPhone
Another instant messenger app for iPhone has been released, joining the ranks of such stalwarts as Pairingo, MobileChat, and AIM for iPhone. Shape IM+ All-in-One Mobile Messenger for iPhone (click opens iTunes App Store) supports AIM/iChat, MSN/Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo!, ICQ, Jabber, Google Talk and MySpaceIM. All public IM systems can be connected through the one client, and all messages come into one shared inbox.Shape Services GMBH is currently offering the iPhone application for free, while the Windows Mobile, Palm OS, Symbian, and BlackBerry versions retail for $29.99. Get it while it's free!Thanks to ZaP for the tip!
Crapgadget: USB back massager, limbo string and more obviously terrible ideas
Remember those battery-operated vibrating ladybugs that people used to pass around (multiple times) as office gifts? Yeah, that critter ain't got nothing on this stable of patently awful gizmos. We've seen a remarkable amount of garbage pass under our noses in the past few weeks, and we've rounded up the worst of the worst for your consideration. So, is a USB shell speaker really more embarrassing than a V-Sports console for folks tired of searching for a Wii? Is the i-Knock personal IM notifier more unnecessary than the Encore Rockin' Music Lamp? Or does the OMG-inducing Limbo String walk away with the gold here? We know, each and every item is a festering turd in one way or another, but which of the ones below just exemplify the word "crap?" Choose carefully.Read - USB shell speakerRead - USB back massagerRead - V-Sports consoleRead - i-Knock IM doohickeyRead - Encore Rockin' Music LampRead - Limbo String %Poll-17998%
MMO 2.0 and the next generation of online gaming
Geoff at MMOCrunch wrote an interesting piece on the 'next gen' in online gaming. Specifically, why there is no next gen. He comments on some of the recent successes in the MMO space, namely the subscription numbers of the Big Five MMO's and the smooth release of Age of Conan. He also hails EVE Online's break from typical MMO archetypes as a kind of successful deviance, but one that hasn't truly changed how we play. The forward momentum in the online gaming industry has brought a great deal of fanfare but little true innovation, Geoff asserts. Sure, some MMO's are successful, but it seems they're all a re-hash of what's been done before. A little more polish, a few more features... he laments the fact that "there seems to be very little that is truly pushing the genre towards the next step." He looks to how the web has changed, improved exponentially, while online gaming hasn't kept pace.
Vtech's IS6110 cordless phone touts QWERTY keypad, IM capability
No need to bust out one of those newfangled smartphones to get your handset-based chat on -- oh no, baby boomers and their offspring can now handle IM conversations via a landline telephone. You heard right, Vtech is getting all extraordinary on us today with the industry's first instant messaging cordless phone, and sure enough, the DECT 6.0 IS6110 features a full-fledged QWERTY keypad to keep those thumbs happy. All that's required is that the phone's base station be connected via USB to a PC, after which users can have free access to MSN Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger. What better way to gently introduce your mother (hint, hint) to this millennium than by dropping $99.95 on this?
VTech launches IS6110 instant messaging phone
Let's just get this out of the way: VTech packed a lot of ugly into the IS6110. That said, the phone isn't too shabby, using DECT 6.0 for call clarity, and supporting AIM and Windows Live Messenger instant messaging. To set it up you just plug the phone into a standard outlet, plug a USB cable into your PC and start LOL'ing all your buddies with abandon. The full QWERTY keyboard and color LCD should make the IM experience passable, but we're guessing this is going to be a price of quality scenario, with parents viewing the phone as a $99 solution to getting the chilluns off the PC for an hour or two so they can get some real work done on Bookworm Adventures. The phone is out in February.
Adium 1.2, the duck has landed.
Flying out of beta status, Adium 1.2 made a full-fledged public release today. And we were just talking about the beta release right before Christmas... Starting with an improved menubar item and account management features, the new features and bugfixes in 1.2 get too numerous for this post, so be sure to head for the Adium blog to find out what's new. I will go ahead and mention one improvement that I'm personally excited about: AppleScript support has been improved in the new build and we'll be seeing outside projects interfacing with Adium more easily now. Non-U.S. users will also want to take a fresh look at 1.2 as it now sports over a dozen localizations. Adium 1.2 is free and available for download! Thanks Samuel & Thomas!
Trillian IM client being ported to OS X - private alpha testing begins
While it's pretty hard to imagine why they'd bother, Cerulean Studios is porting Trillian, their wildly successful Windows multi-IM client, to OS X. How will Trillian (a commercial product) compete against Adium (a free product), particularly considering that Adium is a number of years ahead of Trillian on the Mac, and is by all accounts a very strong multi-IM implementation? As someone who used Trillian for a number of years in Windows, I can say that Adium has completely met my instant-messaging needs on my Mac. I'm what you might call a heavy IM user, with 6 accounts that I use regularly.Now, to be fair, Cerulean Studios states that this is in fact not a port at all, but a ground-up reimplementation of Trillian. The teaser screenshot on their announcement page is certainly intriguing. From the announcement:Though this first alpha build of the OS X version of Trillian is still very preliminary and minimal - the functionality pulled through is about the same as the Flash-based web version - the code for every single feature on the Windows version is there in the underlying mediums. As the UI is expanded, those features will become available. The OS X version will be playing catch-up to the Windows one for a while yet, however.Currently it appears that test versions are only being offered to testers of the current Windows-based Trillian Astra. Click through to the announcement page if you'd like to sign up to test Trillian on your Mac.
Zipit reveals Z2 Wireless Messenger for IM addicts
It's been quite some time since we've heard from Zipit, but the company is hitting back with a second version of its trendy Wireless Messenger. The Z2 doesn't deviate too far from the original's design, but the keyboard left a lot to be desired during our limited playtime. As expected, this handheld unit works on any WiFi network and supports AOL, Yahoo and MSN IM platforms so users can carry on multiple conversations. Furthermore, you'll find an integrated music player (dubbed MyTunez) that can play back files stored on your miniSD card or tunes streamed from the 'net, and the MyPhotoz feature lets you view photo slideshows, too. For those interested, it'll be available next month for $149.99, and if you hadn't already noticed, a host of hands-on photos are waiting below.%Gallery-7836%
Adium update fixes memory leaks and Safari bugs
The folks behind Adium, the fantastic free and open source instant messaging client for Mac, have released a recommended upgrade that fixes 26 bugs and a bunch of other issues. Update 1.1.2 resolves a memory leak while viewing tooltips and AIM mobile contacts now display correctly. Several issues when using Safari 3.0 Beta have also been fixed, and libpurple has been upgraded to 2.1.1 to add limited MSN support. If you're disappointed that the upgrade doesn't offer any cosmetic changes, you could always dress up the dock duck on your own.
Apollo IM does native AIM for the iPhone
IM capability is at or near the top of many (dare we say most?) smartphone users' lists of must-have features, so if anything, we're a little shocked it took this long for a native IM client for the iPhone to find its way into the public domain. Apollo IM is in the early stages of development at this point, buggy (by the developer's own admission) and capable of supporting AIM alone; future revisions, though, promise to deliver a full fledged product with support for the typical range of notifications and services. Click on to grab it if you dare![Via Boy Genius Report]
SHAPE Services brings Skype to Apple's iPhone
For those not courageous enough to give the SoonR Talk workaround a go, fret not, as Skype has finally arrived (for realz) on the iPhone. SHAPE Services has introduced IM+ for Skype for iPhone, which is simply a Safari web application that enables one to "access the Skype ecosystem from the mobile environment." Reportedly, the app was "designed especially for the iPhone's touchscreen," and best of all, it's being offered up gratis "for a limited time." So go on, point your iPhone to SkypeforiPhone.com and get to yappin', ya heard?
FlickIM: A nice AIM solution for iPhone
Until Apple releases "iChat Mobile," developers will compete to produce the IM solution for the iPhone. So far, we've considered JiveTalk and Meebo. The former was definitely better than the latter, but neither was perfect. Today, we're looking at FlickIM. FlickIM supports AIM only, which is a drawback (JiveTalk allows simultaneous connections to AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, GoogleTalk, ICQ, and Jabber), but has the nicest UI of the three. Simple "chat balloon" icons keep tabs on multiple conversations, and your contact list is displayed as a dial selection tool. I did notice one oddity: After I thought I had logged out, iChat on my Mac complained that I was logged in at two locations. Again, it's not perfect, but it's still nice.
Adium X hits 1.0.5
Adium X, my IM app of choice, has released version 1.0.5-- mostly bugfixes, and no major additions to the interface. A bug which deleted chat transcript indexes has been fixed, as well as a crash that was showing up during text-to-speech. And since libpurple was upgraded to 2.0.2, moving ICQ buddies around will go more smoothly, and as the blog says, users who want to add Tlen (a Polish IM service) support to Adium will now be able to do so.Adium also says this is the last major 1.0 release-- the next planned release will be 1.1, and will drop OS X 10.3 support. Optimizing for 10.4 only, they say, will "bring you more of the shiny." Can't wait to see it.As usual, you can grab Adium on their site.[ Thanks, Geoff! ]
JiveTalk offers nice IM for iPhone
The race to see who will rule IM on the iPhone has begun. Last week, Dave wrote about Meebo. It works, but has flaws (the buddy list is very far from the chat window for some reason, and the chat window can't be resized).Today, I came across JiveTalk, which offers simultaneous login to AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, GoogleTalk, ICQ, and Jabber. The alpha release for iPhone worked pretty well during my brief testing. The UI resembles iChat. I had multiple AIM conversations open, and a small notification window told me when the inactive conversation had received an update. Also, two "chat bubbles" at the top of the screen let me toggle between conversations.It's alpha, as I said, but looks good so far. Check it out.[Via Gizmodo]
