Being in Canada has a ton of advantages in my opinion. IM and Mac compatibility isn’t really one of them. Apple’s reliance on the AIM network makes me cry a little bit because the majority of my friends grew up with and still cling to the MSN network. It’s deprecated and has some serious Apple integration issues. So, on my desktop I’ve turned to Adium, and most of you have heard of it, so why hasn’t anyone created a similar app for the iPhone. AIM exists, but what about the whole gaggle of other equally important communication mediums?
Palringo accomplishes exactly what Adium accomplishes on the desktop, but this time, it’s on the iPhone and it’s awesome. Now all my Canadian and American buddies can be graced with my presence and smart ass comments 24 hours a day. Lucky them!
Table of Contents
Connection to your services is super easy
As you can see in the screenshot below you can add a bunch of services to your application. Click the edit button, then the + button that appears and you’re off to the races adding services all over the place.
You message will appear much like the are in the image. A envelope pops up and you click on it to get a listings of your messages that are active. It’s pretty handy and requires very little thought, perfect for the iPhone.
The Contact List
All of your contacts will be thrown into one giant list, which is a bit annoying; however, you do get a visual notice as to what service the contact is on in the list. As you can see below the icon for the indivdual services is placed beside the name in the list. It is also a quick way to let you know when you’re offline for a particular service.
The Chat Window
The chat window works like every other chat window you have grown to love. There isn’t anything new and exciting, and nothing ground breaking here. It works, just like it should. As you can see from this lovely conversation, I’m in some serious need of some Chili!
Final Thoughts
This application makes my iPhone a lot more useful, and helps me keep in contact with the people I really want to communicate with on a regular basis. I’m surprised that Adium has not produced anything similiar yet, and hopefully Palringo hasn’t supplanted them in the iPhone space.
