Best Instant Messaging Program?

[Malatesta]

The ONLY solution for an "always on" solution to connect to AIM and GTalk and saves battery life is Verichat.

Now, Verichat costs $25/year and I'll explain why:

Every IM app out there (agile, IM+, AIM client, etc.) requires a dedicated "always on" internet connection. It literally pings the server every couple of minutes to maintain your connection, status and update your contacts.

This is what drains battery life.

Verichat can do that as well but it has a secondary route which is where the $25 comes in...

They have their own servers which maintain your connection. So when you sign into AIM, GTalk, etc. you're really logging into their severs which then do all the work. This is called SMS-Chat Relay.

On your end, Verichat disconnects and then saves you battery life. There is no pinging, no active connection is needed. When you get a new IM, it goes to their servers first which then send you a 'special' SMS to Verichat, which wakes up your device and it now looks like you have a new IM. At this point, Verichat reconnects to the server directly and you continue your chat. It's flawless, behnind the scenes...you never even notice.

Now, you have to weigh the benefits of using this service vs. $25/year. I swear by it. Christ, I've re-booted my ppc 3 times with Verichat "signed on", left it for 2 days (at this point I forgot I was signed on still) and Verichat STILL passed on a new IM to me (which freaked me out). It's that strong. I mean, the program was not even loaded on my PPC and it still worked.