Free AIM, aim, apple, iphone, messaging, sms

AIM on iPhone Woes? Try eBuddy

All the AT&T calling plans on the iPhone include 200 SMS messages, but if you're pushing that limit where you'll have to start paying per message, eBuddy gives you access to regular old AIM on your iPhone. Go to this URL and you can use AIM without paying a per-message charge. It's not perfect, though.

First of all, the type size of the messages is way too small on your screen—the text is barely even two points high. You can zoom in, but after every message you send, you must zoom in again. Also, messages don't come in live; they're fetched at the same time you send yours, making for some rather halting conversations and missed connections. Overall, it works, but it's awkward.

If you don't send and receive a lot of messages, you're probably better off using the iPhone's SMS service. After all, that delightful iChat-like interface is hard to resist. Another choice if you're using AIM: you can send messages to an iPhone (or any cellphone's text messaging system for that matter), if you type +1 and then the 10 digit phone number as your buddy's name. Any replies to your messages from your cellphone-toting buddy will count as a message, though.

You can also try Meebo, the supposedly do-everything-anywhere messaging service, but all we're getting at that site when we access it from our iPhone is a spinning cursor. Colleague Jason Chen had some luck with it and was actually able to communicate, but characterized it as "super slow," and certainly not pantsworthy. Meanwhile, technicians at Meebo tell us they're working on optimizing the service.

Let's hope this AIM/iPhone situation works itself out soon. Sure, AT&T wants to generate cash from messaging, but we look forward to the day when we can just use AIM for free on the iPhone, unfettered and easy to use just like the rest of the apps on the iPhone.

4:44 PM on Thu Jul 5 2007
By Charlie White
35,300 views
12 comments

Comments

korymatthew at 04:59 PM on 07/05/07
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wouldn't it still be called "ichat" though?
lawl at 05:02 PM on 07/05/07
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I haven't had any trouble with Meebo, but there are a few minor issues.
ScotteusMaximus at 05:15 PM on 07/05/07
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one of the reasons why i'm still on a legacy AT&T wireless contract (pre-cingular) is because i only get charged for outgoing text messages. if you read the fine print of any new AT&T contract, they charge you for incoming messages too, so the old AIM trick only saves one person from using up a text message.
Baberaham Lincoln at 05:19 PM on 07/05/07
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i have been using meebo since yesterday and it's working great...
G-stylez at 05:37 PM on 07/05/07
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MEEBO worked fine. Just a little slow to start up on Edge but once in, chatting went smooth. Hope they keep improving... I don't want to pay. I've paid enough.
robotic-mushroom at 06:35 PM on 07/05/07
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It's interesting that Danger was able to offer AIM on the Sidekick with T-Mobile from day one. Both the device and service are less expensive, and the data plan is all-you-can-eat.

Lacking iChat and a more robust Mail client, messaging seems to be the place the iPhone software needs the most improvement.
drewheyman at 07:41 PM on 07/05/07
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at&t also bills IM messages as SMS, so i'd be careful with this service the first month i tried it.
nosauten at 08:07 PM on 07/05/07
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It sucks that you only get 200 messages. What a rip-off. Text messages should be unlimited in data plans.

When i-phone goes to t-mobile, I'm switching back. I know, it may be a 5 year wait, but it'll be a wait that's well worth it. You hear that at&t.
Jumpking04 at 08:25 PM on 07/05/07
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ebuddy looks wack.
I use aimonpsp.com
It should work on that phone. It works on anything. Well it works on my phone
T-mobile wing FTW.......HotSpot@home here i come..XP.
James at 08:45 PM on 07/05/07
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I agree, NoSauten, I'm heading out as soon as I can. But then again, all carriers charge WAY too much for SMS. I'm really bothered by their SMS overage rates. THe amount of data per message is hardly 10 cents.
duntuk at 10:29 PM on 07/05/07
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f this... meebo is 100% doing a mobile version of their service (to compensate for the lack of double click on iphone safari)... they know what's going on with the iphon... they'd be retarded not to do so...
kai at 11:40 PM on 07/05/07
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as of day-after-launch, meebo wasnt working at all for me on a demo iphone i used, which made sense after i read "no full ajax support" the very next day.

even if it's currently working on the iphone, im gonna have to say "it has to be asstastic" simply based on the fact that i use it at work everyday and if it's that bad on a top-end macbook with broadband, i'd be throwing my iphone against the wall if i had to use it there too.

yay for my sidekick II and it's amazing tabbed IMing capabilities. nay for the fact that that's about the only good thing on the damn phone (oh...and the keyboard owns everything on the market).