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Best IM App? Sidekick Quality.

dkaufman1

Android Expert
Oct 24, 2008
1,202
29
The Lab
rdrrlabs.com
I just downloaded eBuddy to try it, but I was curious what users felt was the best IM app. I am not making this a poll, as new apps might pop up anytime. I should define that "Sidekick Quality" means fast, good notification, uses data not SMS, doesn't drain the battery, stays connected or auto re-connects.

eBuddy
Palringo
Hello AIM
Hello MSN
Meebo (app)
IM (default) only Gtalk uses data though
 
I use Meebo mainly....

It does everything I need to do...

I've never used a sidekick so I don't know what their IM app is like...(yes I know you stated what you define as "Sidekick Quality" but it always comes down to a matter of opinion..and the only opinion I'll ever take is my own..)

Although, Meebo can disconnect if you idle for too long...at least it does on my phone. But it terms of stability and performance...I reckon it's pretty decent...probably the best out there..

I'm also trying out Palringo. It's a little fancier than Meebo but not as stable, in my opinion..but I reckon it will be pretty good once they get rid of all the kinks...

I used to use Hello Yahoo before I used Meebo. I like that as well...
 
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I use Meebo mainly....

It does everything I need to do...

I've never used a sidekick so I don't know what their IM app is like...(yes I know you stated what you define as "Sidekick Quality" but it always comes down to a matter of opinion..and the only opinion I'll ever take is my own..)

Although, Meebo can disconnect if you idle for too long...at least it does on my phone. But it terms of stability and performance...I reckon it's pretty decent...probably the best out there..

I'm also trying out Palringo. It's a little fancier than Meebo but not as stable, in my opinion..but I reckon it will be pretty good once they get rid of all the kinks...

I used to use Hello Yahoo before I used Meebo. I like that as well...

I'm also a Meebo user, and love it. Tried Palringo but didn't like that you have to reboot your phone to turn it off. It will not let you exit, no matter how you try to back out of it.
 
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I just realised that eBuddy is new....

I'm gonna try it out and see what its like....

From screenies it looks like Meebo and Palringo brought together....

And punkzanyj....I could turn off Palringo just fine without having to restart the phone...

I have been trying out ebuddy, some features are not great...connection seems ok. But doesn't auto-start when I reboot my phone.
 
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I just realised that eBuddy is new....

I'm gonna try it out and see what its like....

From screenies it looks like Meebo and Palringo brought together....

And punkzanyj....I could turn off Palringo just fine without having to restart the phone...

Rozza, how? I'd press the back button and it still shows up in my notification bar, and if it disappears from there, task switcher shows it's still running in the background.
 
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Rozza, how? I'd press the back button and it still shows up in my notification bar, and if it disappears from there, task switcher shows it's still running in the background.

Same way you turn off Meebo....

Press Menu and press "Sign Out"....

On a side note....

I tried out eBuddy....it's not bad...
I like their conversation window style...

Problems with it are: No icon to let you know it's still running when you close it down (Meebo-style) although that doesn't particularly matter because it still gives a notification when you get a new IM....
It has the auto sign-out issue which plagues every IM app I've used to date...

All in all...it's pretty good...
I still prefer Meebo though....
 
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Same way you turn off Meebo....

Press Menu and press "Sign Out"....

On a side note....

I tried out eBuddy....it's not bad...
I like their conversation window style...

Problems with it are: No icon to let you know it's still running when you close it down (Meebo-style) although that doesn't particularly matter because it still gives a notification when you get a new IM....
It has the auto sign-out issue which plagues every IM app I've used to date...

All in all...it's pretty good...
I still prefer Meebo though....

You mentioned the persistence issue for eBuddy...does Meebo have this?

One issue with eBuddy that I really dislike, inability to hide, re-order groups, which I'm sure is a feature they could add.
 
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You mentioned the persistence issue for eBuddy...does Meebo have this?

One issue with eBuddy that I really dislike, inability to hide, re-order groups, which I'm sure is a feature they could add.

Persistence?

If you mean whether or not the app runs in the background....then both Meebo and eBuddy do...it's just that...
Meebo puts an icon on the notification bar to let you know it's still there...
eBuddy just disappears and the only way to get it up again is to select the app from your app list.

If you mean whether or not will stay always logged in and not sign you out after a period of idling....then neither of these apps do that as far as I can tell...they both disconnect after a period of inactivity.
 
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Persistence?

If you mean whether or not the app runs in the background....then both Meebo and eBuddy do...it's just that...
Meebo puts an icon on the notification bar to let you know it's still there...
eBuddy just disappears and the only way to get it up again is to select the app from your app list.

If you mean whether or not will stay always logged in and not sign you out after a period of idling....then neither of these apps do that as far as I can tell...they both disconnect after a period of inactivity.

Sorry I meant always logged in, to me that is the big failure of the IM apps on the G1.
 
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Just got the G1 yesterday. I'm trying to find meebo in the market and nothing comes up when I search for it. Anybody have this problem? This isn't the first app I haven't been able to find either. Is there some sort of upgrade I need to do, or maybe a setting switch. I'm totally confused at this point.

Sorry to hear that...I know the devs can choose which countries to support, but other than that I am not sure.
 
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Meebo is pretty good and probably the best choice for those of us who didn't get the built in android IM applications for some reason:

YouTube - Meebo IM Android app review

If you can't find it on the market try this link, might work might not:
chart
 
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I just downloaded eBuddy to try it, but I was curious what users felt was the best IM app. I am not making this a poll, as new apps might pop up anytime. I should define that "Sidekick Quality" means fast, good notification, uses data not SMS, doesn't drain the battery, stays connected or auto re-connects.

eBuddy
Palringo
Hello AIM
Hello MSN
Meebo (app)
IM (default) only Gtalk uses data though


i used to have a sidekick and the closest aim i think is the hello im! but you have to pay 9.99 for it.. so thats the downside.. the other hello aim app or hi aim whatever its called thats free signs you off but this one doesnt! :eek:) so if its worth the 9.99 to you then i would buy it! :eek:)
 
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