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Until today, I had no idea Yahoo Messenger even existed. But it most certainly exists, and if you happen to use it, you might be excited to learn you can now send video. The iOS and Android apps now support sending video, up to one minute long, in both one-on-one and group conversations.
We don't mention Viber quite as often as WhatsApp around these corners, but the app sure has its own legions of fans and dedicated users thanks to continuous updates and interesting features being sprinkled in all the time. Take this last version 5.6 for example. It may not seem like a huge leap on paper, but it does bring feature parity between phones and tablets, and between individual conversations and group messages.
We first heard of Skype's new Mojis a couple of weeks ago with the announcement of version 6.2, but the animated clips were nowhere to be found back then. They promised an integrated way to search for famous clips from TV shows and movies that you insert into your conversations to make them funner. Well, Mojis are finally live in version 6.4 of Skype, and they're being accompanied with a more functional feature for Android Wear users.
Hangouts does some things well, but letting you know when someone new is trying to contact you is not one of them. Google is rolling out several new invitation options to Hangouts that will make things much clearer. What's more, it looks like they're already live in the Android app.
The Skype app was updated today with a few small, but welcome, tweaks to make its instant messaging service a better experience on Android. The biggest enhancement is the addition of a typing indicator that shows when other parties are composing a message. This element is pretty common in instant messaging applications, and Skype users I'm sure will welcome the new feature. Another small improvement is that the avatar picture will now move alongside longer messages as you scroll down the page making it easier to track who said what in a multiperson conversation.
Today, both of Facebook's current apps have been updated to prepare for the arrival of Facebook Home. The main app merely added an extra permission that Home will eventually use. However, the real fun came to Messenger, which now has the ability to pop out Chat Heads, regardless of if you're using the replacement launcher.
We've been seeing leak after leak about Google's rumored unified messaging service. Now, as more details get seemingly confirmed and and we even get a look at the possibly near-finished app, clearly this is the time for Google to acquire a competing IM service, right? Well, not so much, according to AllThingsD. As it turns out, Mountain View is not about to buy WhatsApp, a company that makes a product that Google is currently nearly done building itself. Just in case you were wondering.
Alright, Google. It's time to stop leaving your VoIP service to languish on the vine. Facebook has released a double-whammy of big news bits. For starters, today the social network is rolling out an update to its Messenger app that will allow users to send each other short, recorded audio clips. It's voicemail for the 21st century, if such a thing can even exist without being horrible. And, really, this sounds like it's not.
Social butterflies have been enjoying SHAPE Services’ maxed-out instant messaging application IM+ Pro since last year, but the privilege certainly came with a price – it cost $9.99. Recently, however, SHAPE dropped the price to just $0.99, considerably increasing the app’s value.
Cerulean Studios, creator of the popular cross-platform IM client Trillian, recently announced that all versions of the aforementioned product would transition to a free-with-ads model, as opposed to a paid download. Even though this change took place about a week ago, it looks like the Market listing has finally been updated to reflect accordingly.
Last week, TechCrunch posted a little announcement that got all 9 people who still used AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) very excited, as all their buddies had already left the dying empire and migrated to Google Talk, and AIM was starting to get kind of boring without them. AOL to the rescue - the company (or whatever is left of it) quietly announced that starting sometime this week, AIM and Google Talk users would be able to become BFFs again, all without switching away from their respective clients.
After a bunch of relatively uninteresting premium apps given out for free in Amazon's Android Appstore, today's offering is really quite refreshing. Users of the desktop version of Trillian will instantly recognize their beloved multi-network IM client's logo, and those new to it will find its features quite impressive:
Those of you familiar with PC gaming will no doubt be well aware of Valve Corporation's digital distribution platform Steam. Well, member PoliticalGamer over at the Steampowered User Forum just got back from a trip of a lifetime to Valve HQ in Bellevue, WA, and he brought back some interesting news.
While most Android users don't likely spend a lot of time thinking about what's going on in RIM's land of Blackberry, it has been revealed that one of the popular smartphones' mainstay features, Blackberry Messenger, will be coming to Android and iOS. The popular chat service known for its speed, conversation threads, and easy PIN contact transfer will most likely arrive later this year.