Want a good instant messaging app for the iPhone? One that does push notifications and supports multiple services? How about one that does those things and is free? If you answered Yes to all three of those questions, then eBuddy fits the bill.
I saw a mention of eBuddy on TechCrunch this morning and decided to give it a try. Though it doesn ‘t match some of the ‘heavyweight ‘ IM apps for the iPhone in terms of features, it seems a very good free option.
The app asks you to create an eBuddy ID right at the outset, in order to get going with it. I don ‘t generally like it very much when apps do this, but in this case I was only asked for minimal information (desired username and email account etc.) and it took just seconds to get it done, so I wasn ‘t too fussed. It proved worthwhile as well “ since I can now use eBuddy on the iPhone and in a web browser “ and I ‘ve used both this morning with good results. When using it in a browser, it even supports webcam chat.
It supports a good number of major IM and social services: MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AIM, Gtalk, and Facebook.
Push notifications are setup just like every other app I ‘ve seen with push so far “ and they work just fine.
The main ‘missing ‘ or lesser features I ‘ve noticed in eBuddy so far “ that are offered by some of the leading iPhone apps like these three “ it only lets you stay connected ‘in the background ‘ up to 30 minutes when exiting the app (Agile Messenger allows up to 12 hours), and it does not let you send pictures or voice messages within chats.
There may well be other features that are not in eBuddy that are in some of the bigger, paid apps “ but it certainly does the basics, does them pretty well, and offers push and an online app as well.
I ‘ll be keeping this one around and seeing how it develops.
You can find eBuddy in the App Store now, and it ‘s free.
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TAGS: iphone apps, iPhone IM apps, iPhone instant messaging apps
