Trillian for iPhone Goes Freemium
Trillian, a multi-client messaging app for iPhone, has gone freemium. You can download Trillian for from the App Store for $0.00 and can add as many accounts to it as you’d like, so long as you’re all right with the AdMob at the bottom of the screen.
If not, then you’ll have to fork over $1/month or $12/year to kill ads across all platforms (PC, Mac, etc.).
I want to like Trillian, but a subscription price that only blocks ads and supports an online chat history seems a bit steep. There are plenty of cheaper instant messaging apps to choose from on the iPhone, and the free Adium app takes care of all of my IM needs on the Mac, so my first reaction to Trillian’s price isn’t a terribly positive one. However, the interface is quite different and the meta-contact support does seem quite robust, so I’ll give this app a week or so to grow on me.
You’ve missed the big feature Trillian has that no other multiprotocol IM client has. Multi-device portability. As long as you don’t close the chat session, you can start a chat on any device Trillian supports, and move to any other device running Trillian and pick up right where you left off. You can also stay logged in to IM accounts on multiple devices at the same time without being logged off. If you use IM on multiple devices, Trillian is best client out there, bar none.
@Keith
A fair point, Keith. I knew Trillian was multi-client, butI still don’t know much about the cross-platform specifics (like simultaneous log-ins), since I’m still quite happy with Adium on the Mac.
My main issue here is with the price: I usually don’t like signing up for monthly services – even ones as cheap as Trililan – unless they really bring something more to the table. As someone who already owns Beejive and IM+, I’m prone to wanting apps I just buy and forget about, not services that I have to remember I’m paying for.
Trillian is an awesome application from this niche, I am wondering why it is free.. or has some kind of paid membership?