Nimbuzz uses less data and can make you invisible, but watch your SIP and connection settings

VoIP, chat, and twitter program Nimbuzz talks to SIP, GoogleTalk, Jabber, MSN (Windows Live), Yahoo, AIM, ICQ, Gadu-Gadu, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, orkut, and Hyves.

The latest update promises to use 70% less data, which sounds good if you use Nimbuzz over 3G. Keep in mind that 70% means "up to 70%." Your mileage may vary and will probably be less. You can now also log into your chat networks in invisible mode, and block chat attempts from anyone who's not on your contact list.

The previous update reset my notification sounds and vibration alerts to default, but this version left them the way they were.

So far, so good. But...

...unfortunately the latest edition still behaves badly. I installed version 3.01 on top of the previous version, but my preferred VoIP provider was reset from SIP to NimbuzzOut without any warning. Maybe Nimbuzz doesn't like competition? So don't forget to go through the settings again when you install a new copy of Nimbuzz on top of the old version.

Another annoyance: whenever I connect over 3G, Nimbuzz stores that connection as "preferred carrier" without asking me, and there's no way to switch this unwanted behaviour off. Worse yet, at next launch Nimbuzz automatically tries to use this connection, and hitting "cancel" shuts down the application instead of asking you how you want to connect. Nimbuzz should definitely fix this in the next update.

• Nimbuzz
• fring (the main competitor of Nimbuzz)

Hard times for multi-network instant messengers: Nimbuzz forced to axe ICQ

VoIP, chat, and twitter program Nimbuzz connects to SIP (the standard VoIP protocol), GoogleTalk, Jabber, MSN (Windows Live), Yahoo, AIM, Twitter, Gadu-Gadu, Facebook, MySpace, orkut, and Hyves.

It used to connect with ICQ too, but not anymore. After having to remove Skype from their program they had to do the same with ICQ.

The reason: money.

ICQ wanted Nimbuzz to pay for everyone who chats over their network with Nimbuzz. Obviously that's not gonna happen for a free program. Nobody pays to chat, so there's no way for Nimbuzz to recoup the money.

No more Skype in Nimbuzz and fring is a big loss. Having ICQ removed from Nimbuzz is no big deal because there are plenty of other instant messaging networks left. But let's hope that GoogleTalk and MSN don't follow the bad examples set by Skype and ICQ, because then the end of multi-network chat programs is nearby.

ICQ doesn't seem to work anymore with Palringo either. Fring still has ICQ. But who knows for how long?

• Nimbuzz
• fring
• Palringo

Nimbuzz forced to wipe Skype (just like fring), official mobile Skype application sucks

Many years ago, chat networks like MSN tried to stop multi-network instant messenger Trillian from including their network into its "one app to bind them all" program. But not anymore, because they learned that people are connected to multiple networks and they don't want to run a separate program for each of them. You wouldn't want to run separate web browsers for .com and .net domains either, would you?

What goes for computers also goes for mobile phones. Multi-network clients fring and Nimbuzz combine a bunch of instant messaging networks, VoIP using the widely used SIP standard, and Skype as well.

But not anymore. Skyped turned back the clock and blocked fring (or fring ditched Skype, check the mudslinging on the fring forum), and Nimbuzz announced that they'll have to dump Skype at the end of this month. Not because they want to, but because Skype told them to.

Nimbuzz connects to VoIP using SIP, GoogleTalk, Jabber, MSN (Windows Live), Yahoo, AIM, ICQ, Twitter, Gadu-Gadu, Facebook, MySpace, orkut, and Hyves. It does Twitter too.

Fring has VoIP (SIP), GoogleTalk, MSN (Windows Live), ICQ, Yahoo, AIM, Twitter, and social networking sites like Facebook and orkut. Fring is also a GMail notifier, last.fm radio player, Facebook tool, Twitter application, and it includes Wi-Fi hotspot finder WeFi.

Skype's own Symbian application pales in comparison. It does Skype and nothing else. So if you want to be connected to all your chat and VoIP networks you'll have to run two programs, which takes an extra bite out of your battery life. Yes, that sucks.

My advice: boycott Skype until they accept that multi-network programs are the way to go and being anal retentive is just plain stupid. Don't pay Skype a single penny until they grow up.

• Nimbuzz
• fring
• Skype for Symbian

Talkonaut fixes bugs but forgets Skype, fring twitters faster, Nokia Messaging plays with Facebook, Fake Messages reads your phone book

Still no Skype and Facebook in Talkonaut

Instant messenger and VoIP client Talkonaut talks to Jabber (including Google Talk), ICQ, MSN, AIM, and Yahoo. And it lets you call using almost every VoIP service that uses the SIP protocol.

The latest update fixes some very minor bugs, but the main Talkonaut flaw remains: Talkonaut doesn't work with Skype. It doesn't work with Facebook Chat either.

On the bright side, Talkonaut lets you store multiple SIP VoIP settings, which competing programs Nimbuzz and fring still do not.

• Talkonaut


Faster Twitter for fring

VoIP client and multi-network instant messenger fring connects you to Skype and standard SIP VoIP, GoogleTalk, MSN (Windows Live), ICQ, Yahoo, AIM, Twitter, and social networking sites like Facebook and orkut. Fring is also a GMail notifier, last.fm radio player, Facebook tool, Twitter application, and it includes Wi-Fi hotspot finder WeFi.

The latest fring version adds support for the Nokia E52 and E72, fixes some connection bugs, and Twitter on fring is faster now.

• fring



Nokia Messaging adds HTML email to touchscreen phones and plays with Facebook

Nokia Messaging is an instant messaging progr...- oh wait, that would be Ovi Contacts. Nokia Email is dead, and its replacement carries a confusing name which hints at instant messaging rather than email.

The latest update adds HTML support for touchscreen Nokias like the N97 and 5800 XpressMusic, but the page layout in HTML emails is still not always what the author intended, and some inline images don't display at all.

Nokia Messaging leaves many processes running when you close the program, and these processes keep your internet connection alive. To make sure you really go offline when you shut down the email client, enter the options menu and go offline before you shut down the email program.

Nokia wants to know your phone number before you can download Nokia Messaging. Why can't they simply put a download link online instead of insisting on an on-the-fly install from an SMS?

The push email service is free for the time being, but it may cost money after the beta trial is over, and payment by SMS is definitely an option. Maybe that's why Nokia wants to know my phone number?

Or maybe they want my number because of this:

According to Nokia Beta Labs, "As a part of Nokia Messaging, we expect operators to offer email, IM and in the future, mobile social networking all for one fixed low price."

Mail, IM, and social networking only? Are the people at Nokia Beta Labs aware of operators offering all of the internet for a fixed price? Whether this fixed price is "low" is a matter of opinion, but "fixed high price" doesn't sound good to the guys and girls at the marketing department.

Nokia's answer to their expectation of what operators may offer for a fixed high/low price is the integration of Facebook in an experimental version of Nokia Messaging. This test version is aimed at the Nokia N97 and Nokia 6700 Classic, and it probably won't work properly on other phones. Other social networks may be included later, and support for other phone models is sure to follow.

Nokia Messaging with social networking installs itself on "C" (your phone's internal memory), and that's where it caches pictures too. If you have a crowded C drive and plenty of space on your memory card, the inability to make the program store its files on "E" becomes annoying real quick. To make things worse, all those Facebook images show up in between your photos in Symbian's gallery too. They've got plenty of things to fix at Nokia Beta Labs.

• Nokia Messaging
• Nokia Messaging beta test version



Fake Messages talks to your phone book

If nobody sends you an SMS, why not send some to yourself? Fake Messages by Jukka Silvennoinen does just that. Receiving a fake SMS at the right time may be your escape ticket out of a boring meeting (sorry boss, gotta go, girlfriend just told me house is on fire).

The user interface of Fake Messages is now available in 17 languages.

The message entry box of Fake Messages doesn't support T9 predictive text, and the program only fakes incoming SMSs. If you want to fake outgoing messages as well, try the fake SMS feature of ActiveFile.

The unsigned version of Fake Messages is free, but you'll have to run it through Symbian Signed before you can install it on your phone, or sign it with your own certificate, or hack your phone to break free from Symbian Signed.

The signed version is comes bundled with adtronic. Adtronic is an intrusive piece of adware that pops up advertisements when you receive calls and messages, so better get the unsigned version. Signing the program or hacking your phone takes a bit of time and effort, but allowing adtronic to pollute your phone is much worse.

• Fake Messages

LowCaller: VoIP without an internet connection

Mobile operators usually charge ridiculously high rates for international calls.

If you have a live mobile internet connection you have plenty of VoIP options available, like Nimbuzz, fring, Talkonaut, and Skype Lite. But what if your mobile internet connection is too slow, your mobile operator doesn't allow VoIP on its GPRS or 3G network, or there's no Wi-Fi available here and now?

Then you route your international call through a local number. There are plenty of companies that offer free or cheap international calls through a local number, and the price of a local call plus the charge for an international call from anyone but your mobile operator often works out a lot cheaper than a direct international call with your mobile operator.

One of the companies that offers cheap international calls through local numbers is Betamax, which runs voipcheap.com, voipbuster.com, and other cheap VoIP services which can be accessed through a local number.

You can program the local access number into the contacts list of your phone, but there's another way to route your international mobile calls through a mobile number: LowCaller.

LowCaller runs in the background on your phone. When you make an outbound call, it can route the call through a local number. This doesn't always work out cheaper (it doesn't make sense to route local calls through LowCaller), so make sure you configure the program to ask you whether to route the call or not.

Unfortunately the list of local access numbers is limited. They're only available in Austria, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, and the UK. There may be local access numbers from other companies that are not owned by Betamax, but because LowCaller doesn't work with the competition its usefulness is way less than it could be.

Fortunately there's Mobile Calling Card Dialer. This program is intended for calling cards, but you can use it with any service that routes calls through a (local) phone number, so it's much more flexible than LowCaller.

• LowCaller
• Mobile Calling Card Dialer, an alternative to LowCaller

Skype Lite too lite

Skype Lite is updated, but Skype didn't release a changelog.

Unfortunately Skype Lite is useless if you're not in Australia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, New Zealand, Romania, Poland, Sweden, USA, or UK, because the number one reason to use Skype (making calls) only works over there. The rest of the world can only use Skype's instant messaging feature.

But why bother with Skype Lite? You can chat and call on Skype with Nimbuzz and fring anywhere on the planet. These programs also let you connect to many other chat and VoIP networks as well.

• Skype Lite

Surf, mail, chat, VoIP, video calls: Skyfire, flurry, eBuddy, and OctroTalk

Skyfire now really for everyone

The new beta test version of Symbian web browser Skyfire is now officially available for everybody. Skyfire loads your pages through its own proxy server. Skyfire supports Flash, Ajax, QuickTime, video, audio, and other features of the "full" web. You can choose between the full web page and (if available) the mobile version.

New in version 0.85 beta:
- No more registration needed. Just download, install, and use.
- Single field to enter URLs or search Google.
- Automatic reconnection if your wireless connection is dropped.
- Easier to download images and other files.
- Less battery drain.
- More phone models supported.
- Bug fixes (but there are still plenty of bugs left).
- And more.

Loading the program and rendering pages is quite slow. Skyfire doesn't have a landscape view option, but you can rotate your screen with rotateMe or LandscapePro.

• Skyfire (on the fly install)
• Skyfire 0.85 on Mobile Castle (downloadable installer)
• A few music videos that play well with Skyfire

Update: Skyfire pulled the plug on its Symbian version. All versions Skyfire for Symbian no longer work.


flurrymail plus

Flurry does POP and IMAP, Hotmail, GMail, Yahoo and more. It doubles as a feed reader, so you can read the feed of this blog with it ;)

Unfortunately it is a mobile Java application, so it takes some time to load. It also shows an advertisement when you start the program.

Flurry tries to persuade you to do an on the fly install from a personalised link, but you can download the .jad file, open it in a program like Notepad to locate the URL of the corresponding .jar file, and download them to your computer to edit the .jar and back it up.

• flurrymail


New eBuddy version is faster, more stable, and easier to navigate

eBuddy is a mobile Java instant messenger that outperforms many Symbian IM programs. The new version is faster, more stable, and its user interface is easier to navigate than before.

There's also a mobile web version of eBuddy that works in your mobile web browser: no need to download or install anything. It also works on your computer. Very useful if you're sitting at a computer that won't let you install things, like at work, school, or in a hotel or internet cafe.

eBuddy wants you to install it on the fly from your phone web browser. To download it to your computer for archiving, or to replace files in the .jar installer, go to get.ebuddy.com, select your phone brand and model, download the .jad file, open it in a text editor like Notepad, and use the URL from the .jad file to download the .jar installer to your computer.

• eBuddy


OctroTalk: mobile instant messenger with voice and video

OctroTalk connects to Google Talk and other Jabber networks, and to MSN, AIM, Yahoo, and ICQ. Not just for chat, but also for file transfer, voice, and video. A great way to avoid the ridiculous video calling rates of your mobile operator. You can also use your own SIP service for VoIP calls.

Video chats only work between OctroTalk users. OctroTalk is free while beta testing lasts, but may cost money later.

• OctroTalk

Gizmo: IM and VoIP on more phone models

Gizmo, the chat and VoIP client for Symbian, comes in many versions. A .sis from Nokia Beta Labs for a very limited number of phones, a java version for just about every phone, and versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

It's nowhere near as good as Nimbuzz and fring, but if you want to give Gizmo a try:

• Java Gizmo from gizmo5.com
• S60 Gizmo for S60 from Nokia Beta Labs