Hi All,

I recently got some news on a BIG company that had teamed up with a mobile application developer to get working on a mobile IM client and they plan to give it out FREE. It is gonna be multiIM that allows you to have unlimited number of accounts and any IM service.

The planned features are:
1] Secure IM communication - encryption
2] Compression of data - so lesser bandwidth
3] Ability to use SMS to exchange data - though you will still be using the client, it will communicate to server via SMSs instead of data connection - a way to save your bills
4] always on - ability to receive and forward messages in case you are disconencted from the server due to data connection failure etc.
5] Initial proposed IMs supported are AIM, MSN, GoogleTalk, Y! and jabber, but planned for more like Skype, MySpace, etc.

The reason I posted it here is to gather more expectations from you on this IM client - the basic part is ready and you can expect it in two to three months time for a public/private beta.

I can communicate with the team to convey consolidated messages from this thread and I think the company memebers should already be registered in here.

One more expectation is that it MAY BE OPEN SOURCE Too [Something like a mobile gaim/pidgin version]

Sounds good to me. And I can compare to IM+ which I already own (and like).

Sounds Impressive! I am definitely up.

Are you sure it going to be OPEN SOURCE? This is much needed in the Blackberry space so that more people can learn and start developing applications for this wonderful device.

I guess I know who this BIG company is ;)

we already have jive talk !

Yep! We guess you will have to come up with something much better than jive ;)

but the difference in jive and this one is that its free jive isnt

Jivetalk is has a lot of features and it keeps improving. So the price $19.99-$29.99 is just right.

Hey folks... lets not disourage the nice people from developing new apps for us! We already have a severe shortage of BlackBerry programmers... let alone those willing to do "pro bono" work. = )

But free is always better

Not necessarily, Ramble is free.

I never had any problems with ramble either. And if I remember correctly everyone loved them.

I am not a high IM user on my mobile, so paying for an IM client just doesnt do it for me. To each their own if you wanna pay for something then thats cool but if I can get the same thing with out all the bells and whistles I am good.

I’ve had multiple problems with Ramble. As I see it, with a lot of users, Ramble has issues and it is very buggy.

I use jivetalk right now for the first thirty days I have had it loaded for a week now and have only used it twice.

I didnt reinstall ramble when i came back to a BB but its good to see ya kyoo need to come around the old school yard more often

I think free is good and alternatives are always welcome. With that said, my money has gone to JiveTalk. I need something that I can rely on for business and that has good responsive support. That's worth the money I paid for JiveTalk. I'm sure JiveTalk doesn't mind competition, but even if it's free, JiveTalk has set the bar and anyone else has some catching up. If they do, then the more the merrier since all Blackberry users are winners.

Let me give you some examples of why this is gonna be great: few years back we were forced to use search engines that were presenting irrelevant results, then came Google presenting us the most loved search-engine.

Guys some days back we all had no options than the IM+ and Ramble - but then JiveTalk came and changed things

So changes are the way our world evolves - there is no permanent ruler. If Goodthings are coming along the way - we should welcome and help improve it.

This team I am referring to is known for Good priece of things and all their products are now favourite tools for the whole world. Interface wise they are known for simple, easy to use - UI, more options for personalization. The team as I know is also people from top class institutes around the world. Some members are from India who have received their Ph.Ds from IIT and BITS, Pilani. When great people put their heads on to one issue - that is going to be a great piece of software.

I am not supposed to spill more info - please wait for 2 months and keep posting what you would like to see in your Dream IM client, the developers will look into to accomodate most part of it. The development will be an open initiative where the users will be the major role in designing the application through their valuable feedback. This is the first of its kind of development from the company under this user-feedback based development model.

Post your ideas and wishes, sooner it may become a reality.

Why the team is giving it for free? The basic client will be free and they plan to have some special services like LCS and SimpleTalk which might cost money. But only your company will be paying and not you. So it is more like they give a good IM client for you to use, and if you like - you will recommend to your bosses to make your company use it too - Simple.

Geniuses - that is what I have to say. Pour in your thoughts and dreams!!

Wow this sounds great. Count me in!

I'm In.

I try anything free that I can get my hands on so I would be willing to give this a try. If there is a free BB program or something with a trial period I have probably used it at one time or the other.

I already have IM+ and JT so I dont really need another multi IM program but if its free and works well I will always take a look. For my own use I would prefer data useage like JT over sms but I think I still have unlimited sms right now.

If your looking for features to add just look at what IM+, JiveTalk and WebMessenger have.

I do want to add that there are already 3 very well working feature filled multi IM programs (IM+, JT and WM) already available and 5-10 free single carrier IM ones so besides being free this new program needs something special.

yeah i love to compare programs. what works "great" for some maybe not great for others. count me in too

Digg_Man - I will be willing to try a new product out and help you and your company test it while it is in beta phase. I use JiveTalk also and therefore have a nice product to compare it to. If you say your product will be free and it ends up being half as nice as JiveTalk, it will be a solid program. Give me a shout if you want me to test it out......

As for features that I would like to see....you mentioned that it will be SMS based not data based....that is fine by me since I have unlimited text messaging, but not everyone does, just like not everyone has a truly unlimited data plan.....if possible, your "geniuses" should somehow make it user specified for which they would like it to use, sms or data plan.....if possible

I'm pretty new to the BB platform but would love to give it a try.