Review: Palringo Instant Messaging

In our standing series of reviews for Instant Messaging apps for Windows Mobile (see IM+ last week), we next take a look at Palringo, which has quickly become the darling of many WinMo users.

How does it stack up to IM+? What features stand up out and which need some work?

Take a await after the jump for our review!

Palringo has been around for a few years now and has speedily go the favorite of many IM addicts. Offset of all it'south costless, which is always a squeamish selling point and 2d, it offers some unique features such as "Groups" and vox-prune power.

Features

AIM
GTalk
MSN
Facebook
ICQ
Yahoo!
Gadu-Gadu
XMPP/Jabber
iChat

In addition, it connects up by default to Palringo's ain service which you are required to sign up for when you setup the application. No MySpace or Twitter like IM+, though not a huge loss.

What makes Palringo unique is they have their own IM service, which also had a desktop client available. The mobile version runs on Windows Mobile, Apple iPhone, Symbian, Blackberry and Android (no WebOS even so). In addition, the desktop client works on Windows, Linux and MacOS. All of these are complimentary. This is all relevant and of import because to actually have reward of Palringo, y'all need as many of your friends on the service as possible.

For instance, if yous savour sending vocalization-clips (more on that below), everyone needs a Palringo customer to transport. Likewise, to use "Groups" or some of the more advanced Geo-location services. This doesn't mean the app is useless without your friends/colleagues on board--it does afterward all work with all the aforementioned services, it just works better if everyone is on information technology, which is probably Palringo'due south strategy.

Voice Clips

This is a unique feature which I found interesting. In essence, y'all hold downwardly a virtual-button that mimics push-to-talk devices. Information technology records your vocalism bulletin and then sends it to your recipient. But hither'due south the take hold of: to ensure compatibility between services, if yous transport it to an AIM or GTalk contact, it shows upwards only equally a hyper-link, to which the user has to click and download the audio file to play (afterwards opening Skyfire, information technology can play directly in there). Not very convenient, but what other choice is there?

Pal-Browser%20Link.png

Nevertheless, if that contact is on Palringo as well (and you added them to your Palringo buddy list) you tin send the audio bulletin directly which plays automatically--this is very cool. For one, the quality is pretty darn expert. Number ii, it's quick--well-nigh audio clips are received with 10 seconds of sending. This really creates a true push-to-talk alternative for people.

Combined with this role with the desktop client, you lot can send/receive voice messages instantly from anywhere.

Gimmick or very useful? Depends on how you experience about it. I can see many uses for information technology in-real-life and so long as you become everyone to utilize Palringo.

If you lot miss the message (or your phone is on vibrate/silent), yous can re-play it anytime. Pretty absurd.

Geo-location

Like IM+, you can have your location displayed automatically with your condition messages (via GPS, triangulation or manually configured) for any of your subscribed services.

Once again, the Palringo service has more functionality here with a world-map that shows where yous and your contacts are on the planet--it even looks up your coordinates and translates them to Town, Land (only no Country?). If your Palringo friends announce their location, it sorts them in a new category, "Nearby", automatically with their altitude calculated. Nice.

I'm a large fan of this function but it does have its quirks--the bill of fare commands on are piddling bad-mannered, specifically if you are setting the location manually. Too, I've had it pull downwards the map on my phone with the location right but the map put me in the sea.

Send Photos

Pal-Pic%20embed.png

To repeat, there are two ways that this works: one for Palringo users and others. If your contact is on Palringo, you lot can very easily snap a photograph or use an existing one and send it to them. The photo is embedded, which is looks very prissy. If they are not on Palringo (AIM, GTalk, MSN, etc.) information technology just sends the photo as a hyperlink.

Groups

Only for Palringo users, you lot tin create unique "Groups" for you lot and your friends to hang out in, every bit a meeting spot for your LARP group (j/one thousand) or for co-workers. There are even general social-groups for interests and hobbies already created.

Yes, this is a style to "run into" new people you lonely basement dweller. That'southward because with your Palringo account y'all can (optionally!) add your historic period, interests, romance status and what you're looking to practice. Personally, I found this latter aspect a bit weird but I suppose building "virtual communities" is all the rage these days. C'est la vie.

User Interface (UI)

This is probably my biggest gripe with Palringo. I just don't care for the layout--too cluttered, likewise much wasted infinite.

Granted on a 320x320 screen, there isn't much screen existent estate, but still--practice we really need nearly 1/iv of my screen at all times defended to showing my ain proper name/status/location? As a result I just go maybe three contacts visible on my screen, meaning I have to scroll quite a bit (particularly if you have many contacts).

Perhaps on VGA devices this is probably less of a business organization but in that location should exist either a more minimalist UI or an option to organize contacts in a smaller listing (like IM+).

Notifications work quite well with vibrations and/or aural alerts. Yous likewise get a bright yellowish evenelope on the Today screen and a pop-up notification. It'd be squeamish to actually meet the IM when it comes in, similar a SMS merely alas, it isn't and so.

Reliability/Battery life

Near of the time services stay connected with trivial or no issue. However, I have noticed AIM disconnect quite a few times. What'southward worse is there is no notification if this happens--you just open up the app and "Whoops! I guess I'thousand non online anymore!".

On the plus side, bombardment life is actually pretty proficient--probably the all-time then far for an instant messaging app on WinMo. This due to Palringo's server-side treatment of your accounts, which enables them to take off some of the load.

However, some friends (and fifty-fifty I) have experienced the our phones "heating upwardly" where connection's are weak, more so than IM+--this has a detrimental upshot on battery life. Your mileage may vary.

Conclusion

This should be obvious already: if you can convince all your IM buddies (or nearly of them) to switch to Palringo, it's a very powerful IM choice. You can utilize it on your dwelling computer, netbooks, various phones, etc. and get push-to-talk, Geo-location updates and ship photos directly--all for free.

On the other hand, if you're the merely one on Palringo, it is basically only-another-IM app. The UI in my opinion could exist cleaned upward a fleck just the excellent battery life makes up for that criticism.

Palringo vs. IM+? Well, one is gratis the other is $39.95, sot that is certainly a consideration. With Palringo, assuming you have your friends on the service as well, y'all become free Push-to-talk (or Button-to-Annoy?) technology. IM+ has a nicer UI in my opinion plus MySpace/Twitter access and the "button-IM" characteristic. You also get a swanky and useful Today plugin with IM+, where Palringo has the out-dated "Tray Icon", which is a waste of space.

Really it comes down to unique features and if yous like (demand?) Groups, button-to-talk, etc. I'm on the contend nearly those terminal two myself.

At present alibi me equally I'm off to convince all my friends to switch to Palringo, only what that company wants me to do. Curses.

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