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Meebo Finally Launches Free iPhone Instant Messaging App

by Terrence O'Brien on February 17, 2010 at 08:24 AM

Meebo has been a favorite amongst cloud computing purists for some time. It's a Web-based, multi-protocol instant messaging client that works across more networks than one person could possibly remember. Mobile IM addicts have been eagerly anticipating the service's official iPhone app, which will finally offer an alternative to high-priced options from Beejive and IM+ ($6.99 and $4.99, respectively).

After first being teased last March, the free app has finally hit the iTunes store. In addition to being free (which gives it a huge leg up), the app, according to early reviews, is faster than the competition while retaining all the key features: broad compatibility, chat logs, and push notifications. (We can't confirm or deny this, as we haven't used Beejive or IM+.)

We did, though, encounter a bug by which Meebo failed to load messages when we tapped "View" in the push notification box. We were also slightly annoyed by its inability to intelligently turn off notifications when we were logged into our accounts elsewhere. Still, on the whole, we found the experience of using Meebo to be pleasant. Swiping to switch between conversations made it easy to track several IMs, and the landscape mode was greatly appreciated.

For those who absolutely must check AIM, Yahoo!, or Google Talk while out and about, Meebo is clearly the best option. Check out a few hands-on shots below. [From: Download Squad]

Meebo Comes to the iPhone

Tags: appstore, instant messaging, InstantMessaging, iphone, iphone app, IphoneApp, meebo, top

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