AOL's AIM iPhone App Is Getting Awesome, Disruptive To AT&T

http://www.businessinsider.com/aols-aim-iphone-app-is-getting-awesome-disruptive-to-att-2009-6

by fromedome • 17 years ago

12 24 17 years ago

jonknee3• 17 years ago

So in other words it's starting to work like every other smartphone and this will somehow destroy text messaging. Actually a large percentage of phones have IM built-in which is much nicer in use (you just browse your contacts and choose how to contact them, instead of having to decide how to contact first and then go to that app). Presence is often built in too, so when you view a contact you can see where they are logged in.

fromedome3• 17 years ago

I'd say the key difference is that mainstream people actually download and use apps on the iPhone, much moreso than on other platforms.

jonknee3• 17 years ago

Except on other platforms you don't have to download anything, it's built into the phone. Check the Pre for a great example. IM should be integrated like email and SMS. BlackBerry typically has IM integrated in I believe, I know that's the case on T-Mobile at least.

menloparkbum3• 17 years ago

It also reduces battery life to about 4 hours.

fromedome3• 17 years ago

Push notifications do?

menloparkbum3• 17 years ago

I don't know if it's the push notifications or the AIM app itself. All I know is that I was beta testing the new AIM with push and my phone would always be dead by about 2 pm, and I don't feel like I talk to very many people. Maybe about 5 people.

My guess is that it was because my phone is always in vibrate mode and every time someone sent me a message my phone would vibrate.

riffic2• 17 years ago

AIM would be nicer if the service was based on xmpp and allowed federation with other services..

why do these walled gardens still exist? email figured it out 30 years ago: user@domain

fromedome3• 17 years ago

Perhaps an aggregator like Meebo or maybe Adium will get us halfway there.

superchink• 17 years ago

Beejive 3.0 works great!

riffic2• 17 years ago

No, because that is solving the problem from the wrong direction. There is no reason there needs to be all these seperate communication protocols for essentially the same method of communication.

Do we need another skype or facebook coming out with their own proprietary instant messaging scheme, while perfectly good protocols exist.

there• 17 years ago

now someone just needs to make a simple, free iphone app that works just like the text messaging app, but sends messages through push notifications. no signup, no aim accounts, no presence, no other fluff.

send to any phone number or contact and the app would know if the receiving number is an iphone with the same app installed. if it isn't, it lets you know that you need to use regular text messages instead. resist the urge to implement real sms functionality on the backend so users don't feel like you're trying to sell them something. make the users pressure their friends into installing the app and it'll be huge. resist trying to make it some global contact manager with a desktop version and a dozen points of integration.

then make blackberry and android versions that can all work together and you're golden.

kalvin• 17 years ago

TextFree. They haven't added push yet, but I'm 100% sure it's coming.

TetOn• 17 years ago

Even with push, TextFree (or AIM, for that matter) can't be even reasonably disruptive to iPhone texting rates until they are ubiquitously distributed. Unless and until Apple makes AIM (or something like it) a default app or an alternate carrier comes on the scene, AT&T will continue to charge outrageous texting rates. Let's all hold our breath...

devicenull• 17 years ago

My phone has this, but it goes through a gateway my carrier setup, so each IM is charged as one text message. Of course, I don't actually pay for a data plan so it may be different if I had internet access.

AOL's AIM iPhone App Is Getting Awesome, Disruptive To AT&T

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