Palringo Brings Makes Realtime IM Mobile

Palringo deserves attention because it integrates numerous IM services into one mobile app. Supported IMs include MSN, AIM, YM, iChat, and Jabber/GTalk (yes, including the one built into Gmail). And unlike many mobile IM apps, Palringo does things real-time. Replies immediately show up, with no manual refreshing required.

It’s possible to switch between conversations, meaning users can chat with multiple contacts simultaneously. On the S60 version (tested on an N97), sending and receiving around 50 IMs via HSDPA added up to about 450kb/73kb of download/upload bandwidth usage. Needless to say the speed of the app depends on network coverage and phone connectivity. Connections are possible through mobile broadband and WiFi.

Palringo also supports the sending of photo and audio messages, straight from the phone’s camera or audio recorder. What’s weird though is the app can’t seem to pull content already available on the gadget itself, limiting multimedia messages to the recently captured.

The IM integration app also needs work with how it manages contacts. While it categorizes them conveniently under offline and online sections, there’s no way to narrow down the list (by search text, IM service, etc.). Locating a contact to chat sometimes requires significant scrolling.

Despite these issues however, the real-time communication allowed by Palringo makes it stand out as a mobile instant messaging application. Visit the official site for more information.