Best Instant Messaging Program?

SMix · #1 (**permalink**) 08-30-2006, 12:55 PM

So I have been trying all the popular titles for instant messaging but none of them work well ... basically they all destroy the battery life ... am I looking for Atlantis here or is there actually a program out there that does AIM and possible GTalk without destroying your battery life? I can't get a program that doesn't kill my battery in about 3 hours tops!! Help me!!!

**Wideawake** · #2 (**permalink**) 08-30-2006, 01:14 PM

that's a hard one. anything that stays connected to vision like that and constantly running in thebackground will eat up battery life. Personally I find agile to be best free one.
~mike

**bunnytrigger** · #3 (**permalink**) 08-30-2006, 01:41 PM

Agile it is my man.....i like the option that u can send pics on it....wish it could reveice as well

**Malatesta** · #4 (**permalink**) 08-30-2006, 04:13 PM

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.

ajk511 · #5 (**permalink**) 08-30-2006, 05:20 PM

all hail the king (well...the anarchist king)

BiGMatTFRomJeRSeY · #6 (**permalink**) 08-30-2006, 08:52 PM

dam i may actually pay the money lol. i need something better then agile i dont like it at all.

darkmojo · #7 (**permalink**) 08-30-2006, 09:06 PM

That actually seems worth it, if a bit creepy.

SMix · #8 (**permalink**) 08-31-2006, 12:35 AM

Yah I don't mind paying for something that is well worth it ... I was actually looking earlier at Verichat but did not see a windows mobile version ... after some searching I found a beta for it ... I have just recently downloaded it and started to use it ... the only drawback I have found is that it is not as customizable as many others are, in terms of sounds, popup alerts, etc ... but overall it is a very nice program ... last thing now I have a question Mal ... when I first loaded the app it seemed like the system you are describing is what it asked me about at first, but it made it sound like I have to enter my cell phone number for it to send me an SMS alert when I get a message, instead of actually waking up the device ... if this is true this will be bad for me as I do not pay for SMS service ... also I tried to go and activate that part afterwards ... and i for the life of me could not find anywhere to enable the feature per say ... Mal?

**Malatesta** · #9 (**permalink**) 08-31-2006, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMix

Yah I don't mind paying for something that is well worth it ... I was actually looking earlier at Verichat but did not see a windows mobile version ... after some searching I found a beta for it ... I have just recently downloaded it and started to use it ... the only drawback I have found is that it is not as customizable as many others are, in terms of sounds, popup alerts, etc ... but overall it is a very nice program ... last thing now I have a question Mal ... when I first loaded the app it seemed like the system you are describing is what it asked me about at first, but it made it sound like I have to enter my cell phone number for it to send me an SMS alert when I get a message, instead of actually waking up the device ... if this is true this will be bad for me as I do not pay for SMS service ... also I tried to go and activate that part afterwards ... and i for the life of me could not find anywhere to enable the feature per say ... Mal?

Select Menu --> Configure Email Address

If Sprint: urphone#@messaging.sprintpcs.com

Yeah, that's exactly what it does: it sends a special SMS to your phone. It's weird, you won't see that SMS in your Inbox or a notification, you'll see it as a Chat request pop up, just as if you were always connected.

It only does that for the 1st message of a chat request. If you decide to Respond, it reconnects to the server directly and you just use regular Vision. So, even if you're paying for SMS, it's only that 1st message.

If you don't use the SMS relay, it's just a regular IM app like the rest.

**Big D5** · #10 (**permalink**) 08-31-2006, 06:57 AM

I have a question, with push mail available what is the advantage to using instant massaging