[LearningBlackberry]

I have Yahoo, and of course BBM (but can only communicate with people who have a BB). In your opinion, which is the best one? What do you use, and why?

I'm asking because I have someone I want to be able to IM with who can't use Yahoo and doesn't have a BlackBerry.

Thanks!

[zerog46]

Wirelessly posted (Tour)

In my opinion its Google Talk. It works good and there are a good deal of people I know who use it. It is pretty much preference.

[JSanders]

What does your friend have?

BeeJive and NimBuzz can use many of the most popular IM apps in one place, Yahoo, GTalk, AIM, etc.

[LearningBlackberry]

This is probably a silly question, but if I download and use BeeJive, do I have to have the Yahoo and Gtalk apps as well? Or is this one app that does it all?

[JSanders]

No, you set up the account you want to use, with BeeJive. If you use AIM, set it up and no others.

But in that case, I would recommended just getting the FREE RIM AIM application if you intend to use only one protocol.

You've left one biggie unanswered, which IM protocol will you be using?

[Mojoski]

I personally use BeeJive for all of the major IM protocols and it is quite nice. I am typically logged in to AIM, Yahoo, MSN, GTalk, ICQ and Facebook and it runs like a champ! Give it a shot. The new 2.02 release is really nice.

[morbezoe]

I've been a BeeJive user for about three years, and I like the program but I have two complaints:
1. It drains my BlackBerry battery completely in about 4 hours (I've used it in at least three devices)
2. Tech support SUCKS!, Had to get my BB Bold fixed and moved back temporarily to my old BB 8700G, I tried to transfer my license to it directly from the 8700 and I coudn't get the "transfer" page opened, so I tried from my computer, I did the transfer successfully and after that I installed and ran the application on my 8700, as soon as it loads, it gives me three options: Register with a full license, Get a trial license and cancel. If I select "register with a full license" I'm asked for a "License Key" which I can't find as I don't recall when I bought it. If I select "Get a trial license" I get a message telling me that the device already has a full license. I've been sending e-mails to support@beejive_com all day long and I haven't got a single response.
Be VERY Careful if you want to get a license, if you lose it, it seems you'll have to BEG support@beejive_com to get it back.... I'll post again tomorrow to tell you if I finally got my license number from the people at BeeJive.

[the-economist]

Wirelessly posted

BBM works best for Blackberry users. For the ones in your contact list that still don't hold one you have to compromise for the IM platform the majority of them use.

Beejive in principle is handy and all, but in my experience tends to go heavy on battery use.

Gtalk is a much better alternative and mostly everyone these days have a gmail account they use for mailing lists etc. I mostly leave it in the background and don't even notice any adverse effects on performance.
The Gtalk intergration with BBM is also nice. Lately gtalk convos and text messages from known contacts that have their number and mail addresses in list appear under BBM for me. (Bold on .411). Give it a try.

[morbezoe]

I finally got my License key after asking for it yesterday all day long.
I still consider BeeJive's support as a very unefficient one.

[irsan_tedja]

Nimbuzz works pretty well if you don't need fancy features and it's FREE -
OTA: http://get.nimbuzz.com

I've bought IM+ All-in-One Messenger for my Blackberry Bold and I've gotta say I'm quite happy with it. The only thing missing is being able to make/receive Skype calls. Other than that, battery life is good, offline redirection to e-mail is very welcome and user interface is fairly good.
Link: http://www.shapeservices.com/en/products/

[longbeard]

Originally Posted by the-economist

Wirelessly posted

BBM works best for Blackberry users. For the ones in your contact list that still don't hold one you have to compromise for the IM platform the majority of them use.

Beejive in principle is handy and all, but in my experience tends to go heavy on battery use.

Gtalk is a much better alternative and mostly everyone these days have a gmail account they use for mailing lists etc. I mostly leave it in the background and don't even notice any adverse effects on performance.
The Gtalk intergration with BBM is also nice. Lately gtalk convos and text messages from known contacts that have their number and mail addresses in list appear under BBM for me. (Bold on .411). Give it a try.

BTW you can be logged on GTALK on two locations, Blackberry and your Desktop.. You can also receive the message the same time..

[fritzfox]

Does anyone else have problems with BeeJive occasionally dropping outgoing messages? Every so often it does it in all the protocols I use (jabber and yahoo). I love the app otherwise.

I'm tempted to try/get IM+, but a 7 day trial is short and $40 seems kinda steep.

I also love BBM because of the message status indicators, as well as the fact that you can send files easily!

--Fritz

Details:
I've only noticed messages dropping since version 2.0.x, and I use an 8320. Happens in areas of strong reception, weak reception, and using WiFi. Also it doesn't matter if the app has been running for a long time.

[carolinaberry]

Originally Posted by fritzfox

Does anyone else have problems with BeeJive occasionally dropping outgoing messages? Every so often it does it in all the protocols I use (jabber and yahoo). I love the app otherwise.

I'm tempted to try/get IM+, but a 7 day trial is short and $40 seems kinda steep.

I also love BBM because of the message status indicators, as well as the fact that you can send files easily!

--Fritz

Details:
I've only noticed messages dropping since version 2.0.x, and I use an 8320. Happens in areas of strong reception, weak reception, and using WiFi. Also it doesn't matter if the app has been running for a long time.

Is the price the main reason why others aren't chiming in about IM+ or is performance history an issue? I agree with Fritz that at $40, it's really expensive, but it appears to be the most polished across the board. Waiting for a price-cut or really good promotion before I actually get a license, but wanted to see if there are some -current- opinions on it. Thanks!