Gizmodo: ICQ

Hands-On Google Talk for iPhone (Verdict: Stick with Installer.app)

Benny Goldman — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Google's brand new Gtalk webapp for the iPhone is as crappy as I expected it would be. It has a nice design, and sending messages was easy, but at the end of the day it's still running in Safari—which means if you get a call you are signed out of chat. And unlike other web-based IM apps, Gtalk doesn't work in the background, so interruptions as simple as going to the home screen sign you out too. Also, there are no preference settings, so you are stuck looking at your whole contact list, online and off. Gtalk's AIM support is also curiously absent from this release. In short, this program sucks. If you're looking for a solid IM solution before the App store opens, I strongly recommend Agile Mobile's AM client recently released on Installer, which I've been playing around with.

AM is extremely easy to set up and has lots of options so you can choose which contacts you see. It supports Gtalk and AIM protocols in addition to ICQ, MSN, Yahoo and Jabber. AM even logs your IM sessions so you can refer back to old conversations. But best of all, it keeps your IM conversations going, even when you are on a call or out of the program, and sends Mail style notifications alerting you to how many IMs came your way while you were gone. All in all, an extremely good experience for IMing on the go, so jailbreak if you haven't yet, and install this puppy. [Google via Lifehacker]

Fring is the World's First True iPhone VoIP App

Jason Chen — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:53:22 EDT

Ignoring previous "iPhone VoIP" apps like Jah Jah, which are only VoIP after you connect to their analog to VoIP bridge, this Fring app seems to be the first real VoIP solution for the iPhone/iPod Touch. To get in on this action you need a jailbroken iPhone, Wi-FI access, and you'll be able to call regular phones using either SkypeOut or SIP (your prices will be determined on which SIP provider you use and how much SkypeOut charges for your particular call). Best of all Fring has built-in IM capabilities for Skype, Google, ICQ, MSN, Twitter, AIM, and Yahoo contacts. The download and install are free. [Fring Install Instructions]

ICQ, the Toothpaste

Jason Chen — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 21:30:00 EDT

Everyone remembers ICQ, the first widely-used instant messaging application that's all but dead in most of the world now. The Israeli software company that developed the suite before it was purchased by AOL has just partnered with a big Israeli pharmacy company called CTS to release this ICQ toothpaste, which our tipster claims will "help P2P communication (person to person) while reducing bad breath." Weird, yet really really cool. On a related note, I've got a low six-digit ICQ number. How long is yours? [Thanks Nir!]

BeeJive's JiveTalk The Best iPhone IM Client So Far

Jason Chen — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 16:31:16 EDT

Seeing as eBuddy and Meebo either only kinda work or support only AIM, and Trillian Astra isn't actually available yet, JiveTalk looks like the only good solution for mobile IMing on the iPhone. Not only does it support AIM, there's MSN, Yahoo, GoogleTalk, ICQ, and Jabber support as well. And it's FAST.

In our own tests, the IMs came in super speedy and in iChat-esque bubbles (like the SMS app). There's even chat icons on the top to represent tabs, so you can cycle between different conversations. It's still in alpha, which explains why there aren't any options for, say, hiding offline contacts, but it's still good enough to earn our recommendation as the best chat app so far. [BeeJive]