Exclusive First Look - Official BlackBerry IM Clients (AIM, MSN, ICQ)
 

These do not work, as of yet (please re-read that sentence once again). It appears most of these are almost final, and carrier implementation should start at some point (likely before year end). I'm going to guess that the MSN client is released first, followed by the AIM and ICQ clients (these should be released at the same time).

As seen in the screenshots, these are going to be available in the following locations (subject to change) once they are released (again, subject to carrier compatibility and exclusivity agreements):

MSN: www.blackberry.com/msnmessenger
AIM: www.blackberry.com/aim
ICQ: www.blackberry.com/icq

NOTE: These are NOT available for download, for use, or anything along those lines. Even if you had the clients loaded on your handhelds, THEY WOULD NOT WORK! NO REQUESTS!

Sweet I can't wait to check them out, I know most of my customers want a real featured AIM client

Finally! Been waiting for the MSN one forever.

Jibi, you headed down for the LSU game?

Yep, I have season tickets. Going down tomorrow night and hitting up Sky Bar for a few beers and tailgating a bit then getting a 7:30 AM start on Saturday.

The individual page links are kaput. Are these clients going to use data or SMS's?

Data. Just like Yahoo, and Google Talk

Sweet. Will the client(s) support connections to the carrier/RIM or direct connections? Single or multi socket?

Any word on whether the MSN client will be XBL aware?

No further information known aside from what was posted, short of what we already know due to the releases of Google Talk and Yahoo IM clients (such as data not SMS-based).

I'm guessing they will connect to RIM/carrier then to the networks. Also guessing they will be single-socket until they have a converged IM client (if ever ...seems like a logical step).

Finally. I have been searching for a full featured AIM for sometime and haven't been happy with any of the data apps I've installed yet.

Those screenshots look like they are off a Pearl - is that correct?

Any word on if they will incorporate custom away messages, buddy info, etc? Those are the main features I am trying to find at the moment.

I saw where you said they are "subject to carrier compatibility". So that means they will only work on certain carriers?

I think now I will have to wait before purchasing a new Blackberry. Somehow I have a feeling that T-Mobile will block them since T-Mobile uses the OZ IM program and that uses SMS. They would lose a lot of revenue by offering this.

Are these programs going to be available for download on any blackberry or will they be bundled on new handhelds only?

yes.

see note above - no further information known.

Possibly, correct. For example, some carriers, such as T-Mobile, weren't initially included on the Yahoo IM. Cingular still avoids this particular client. This is usually driven by currently available SMS-based profitable IM clients rather than giving the consumers what they want. I was very surprised to see T-Mobile support the Yahoo client, especially since they turned off 'SMS over GPRS' early in the 7100's lifespan due to the inability to charge you for SMS messages used through their IM client (as well as normal SMS messages). Keep in mind that carriers make an absolute fortune off the out-sourcing of relatively cheap SMS gateway services. All too often, the end-user/consumer is overlooked when it comes to a company's bottom-line.

I'm sure any, as there are mono clients available as well. Not sure on the requirements, though.

Good work jibi! Question though: These ARE public clients, for use by non-corporate clients right?

I had a feeling some of the MSN support was only through BES, working with say, Microsoft corporate "MSN" server..

nice find
that looks awesome, cant wait to get my 8703 from verizon hopefully this will be updated soon and i could take advantage of the im clients.

This is great to hear that our voices are finally heard. I'd actually like to see how this will play out at T-Mobile as well since T-Mobile uses the OZ client for instant messaging.

I was thinking this as well.

These are the IM clients for the public IM clouds, for use by anyone (subject to carrier availability, of course).

Microsoft's Live Communications Server interacts with an end-user using Windows Messenger 5.1 or Office Communicator 2005. The BES side of this is LCS Enterprise Messenger (1.1.11 for Windows Messenger in BES 4.1.1; 1.1.17 for Office Communicator in BES 4.1.2) - you'll notice this client on my applications list (it's named the same for both versions).

MSN, or Windows Live Messenger, is a completely different platform (to an extent) and uses Microsoft's public IM cloud. With that said, there is also a federation option for Office Communicator/LCS that allows connectivity to the various networks' public IM clouds in order to have interoperability with all of the major IM services (AIM, MSN, and Yahoo) through the Office Communicator client. This would add a corporate level solution for the various IM services and any security and audit/logging requirements, if you choose to enable such features. This can get rather expensive for large LCS rollouts, but most large corporations have done so (including mine).

What theme is the blackberry shown using? Its great!