For many social junkies, having but a single, solitary account to communicate with is absurd, and possibly even insulting. How dare someone think that one account is good enough and everyone else should follow them in their choice of IM client/social networking service. With that said, there are tons of choices in communication services. So much so, it can be hard to keep track of them all. Thanks to multi-chat clients however, grouping all of those conversations, buddies, and accounts into one smorgishboard is a life saver as well as a time saver.
Mobile IM apps and web portals for IM clients are nothing new. Though the latter hasn’t been around quite as long as the stand alone mobile/desktop app nor has it been as fully featured or polished. Can IM+ shake things up a bit when it comes to online browser-based multi-chat? Continue on…
Over the last couple of years, I’ve really come to enjoy multi-chat clients. Part of the reason is because I actually have multiple accounts that I actually use. For the longest time, I had a single AIM account with a list full of buddies that I never talked to. I think I would sign in to it maybe once every couple of months. And then I became a nerd, adopted countless smartphones, and started a website along the way. Now I have plenty of people to actually talk to, both business and pleasure. So a good multi-IM/social service app is a must.
Seeing is how just about everyone and their mother has tried either a mobile/desktop app or browser-based variant, I’ll skip the deeper workings and points of each, instead focusing on what really matters (today anyway) — IM+ Web.
Currently in open beta, IM+ Web looks to bring all the greatness that is their mobile app (an app that spans many mobile platforms by the way…) to the browser. So how does it all work? Pretty good. The UI is a bit bland — It’s nothing more than a simple buddy box on the left and chat windows on the right. — but that doesn’t mean you should avoid this service. Looks aren’t everything, especially in the gadget world. When form trumps function, bad things are generally born.
In the case of IM+ Web, setting up your accounts is easy and straight forward. Click the “+” symbol, choose the account from the dropdown, and add your credentials. If you’re like me and have forgotten the login to a few of your accounts, add in a solid 10-15 minutes extra in setup time. Other than that, the only other options to really change are the ability to show/hide offline buddies, show notifications (visual), and enable/disable alert sounds.
For what it does, IM+ is perfect — a simple, straight forward multi-IM service that runs completely in the browser. With the way many sectors are moving towards the web, even considering the recent iPhone-app effect, the web (and the browser) are where our lives will eventually reside in full.
Don’t take my long collection of words for it. Try out IM+ Web beta for yourself by pointing your browser to https://plus.im. Let us know what you think the IM+ team should add moving forward!
**IM+ allows you to connect with AIM/iChat, MSN/Live Messenger, Facebook, Google Talk, Jabber, Yahoo, ICQ, MySpace, and Skype.
