Although text messaging is still one of the favorite pastimes for children and adults alike, software firm Geodesic believes that mobile instant messaging will cannibalize SMS and become the de facto form of communication through cell phones, going forward.
The company offers a tool called Mundu IM, which recently entered its fourth iteration. The software provides users with an IM service that works with AIM, Google Talk, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, and Jabber accounts, with collaboration across the Web and wireless devices.
Mundu IM is currently supported on most mobile phones running Symbian, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm OS, and Java platforms. The service also has a iPhone Web interface, which allows users of the Apple smartphone to log in to their favorite IM application without requiring a download through the App Store.
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Geodesic)
I had the opportunity to use the Mundu IM service on my iPhone 3G and found that it worked quite well. I was able to log in to my instant-messaging services without a problem, and upon doing so, I found that chatting with others through the software was quick and just as simple as chatting with them on my desktop.
But where Mundu IM really shines is in its extras. The service allows you to share pictures taken from your phone with friends, transfer files, and cross-conference with contacts across IM services, making it much simpler to talk with people, regardless of their preferred IM software.
Mundu's design is second to none. It features stylish icons that make it easy to choose your IM service, and the interface during chat was simple, which made the experience far more usable.
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Geodesic)
Although the software itself is simple and elegant, I'm not quite sold on the implementation. It's nice to have a full-fledged IM service on my iPhone that will help me save money on SMS, but why not make it an iPhone app and offer it on the App Store? Making Mundu Web-based seems a bit odd and takes away from an otherwise fine service, due to Safari's annoying quirks and hiccups, which become frustrating after some time.
When evaluating Mundu's competitive environment, it becomes clear that its IM service takes aim at Agile Messenger, which currently charges customers $44.95 for lifetime use. Based on my findings, the experience is similar, but Mundu IM's $11 one-time fee puts it over the top and makes Agile Messenger less appealing.
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Geodesic)
It would have been nice if Mundu IM were free, like Meebo, but I understand that Geodesic needs to turn a profit too, and $11 is more than affordable, considering that you'll have your phone for at least two years.
With all the versions Mundu IM offers, it should be noted that "your mileage may vary" depending on the version of the software you use. Although the iPhone version works as advertised, and provides an experience that would make me want to use it on a regular basis, phone differences, mobile-OS quirks, and other considerations become an issue when applying that opinion to all versions of the software.
Because of that, I need to qualify my recommendation when I say that Mundu IM is worth using on the iPhone if you use multiple IM services, and you don't mind accessing them through the Safari browser. But if you only use AIM, I simply don't see a reason to use Mundu IM--access the App Store, and download the AIM app instead. It's free.
Tatango, the Seattle-based start-up specializing in connecting groups of people through text messaging, announced the launch of Tatango Voice, a service that will let users make free calls to other members within the group they create on Tatango's service.
Using Tatango Voice, group leaders can record and send a free voice message to all the mobile phones in their group, which Tatango claims will eliminate the need for complex phone trees. Once the group leader records the call, other group members receive a text message alerting them to the waiting call. To listen to the recording, group members need only to reply to the text message with the word "call" and it will be delivered to their phone.
"Text messaging is great for certain types of group messages, but sometimes a group needs a little more room to convey their message" said Derek Johnson, CEO of Tatango. "By adding voice to our existing set of group communication tools, we've developed the most complete, powerful, user-friendly system available, no matter what type of message."
Tatango Voice is free to use and will work on any mobile phone, but there's one caveat: each call is preceded by a 7-second advertisement. Granted, 7 seconds probably won't be enough to push users away, but with competitors like 3jam and Dean Alert offering similar services, it could make users want to try out other options before they pick which is best for them.
Social networking via cell phones seems to be making a strong push lately. In the last few weeks alone we've covered Joopz, Groovr, PL8Scn, MySpace Mobile, and Gimme20, all services that let you use SMS text messages to communicate with others. Zemble, which launched its public beta version last month, is a free, group-based communication service that lets members send messages en masse to other members.
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CNET Networks)
Similar to Joopz and 3Jam, Zemble lets you create your own group of phone or e-mail contacts and save it as a preset of sorts. Zemble calls these group presets "Zembles." If you send a message to your Zemble, other members of that Zemble will receive the message and be able to respond either individually to you or to the entire group.
Speaking of spam, Zemble says its a no-spam service, although during this month's New Tech Meetup last night in San Francisco, co-founder Doug Ludlow let on about company plans to generate income from the service using targeted ads at the end of sent messages. Currently, the service doesn't include these ads, but it seems their goal is to place an ad at the end of your messages, based on your demographic. Standard SMS messages have a limit of 160 characters, so it's hard to imagine how good these ads could be.
To avoid getting huge phone bills at the end of the month for your excessive texting, Zemble has some simple limitations you can place on both your Zemble friends and your overall Zemble usage. You can both enable and disable certain friends from sending or receiving messages, and set a limit on the amount of Zembles you can receive each month.
Zemble would be an expensive habit for most people on U.S. carriers. Casual text messaging still hasn't hit big here, but what is big is the cost. Most carriers charge in excess of 10 cents for sending and receiving, so despite Zemble being free, using it on a regular basis will increase your phone bill if you don't have a cheap messaging plan. I like the idea of sending multiple texts easily, I'm just not so thrilled about paying more at the end of the month.
Text messaging can be a tricky affair. It got David Beckham in a lot of trouble with his wife, and if you're on a U.S. carrier, it's likely given you some trouble on your monthly bill. Throw in the difficulty of typing with twelve keys, and conventional messaging loses some of its appeal. That's where Joopz comes in. Joopz is a browser-based SMS service that lets you use your 100+ button PC keyboard to send and receive text messages. Many carriers already offer this functionality from their Web sites or with special, free e-mail addresses, but Joopz takes it one step further with two-way communication and group chat. Joopz comes in two flavors: a free and a premium membership. Premium membership allows unlimited outgoing messages and archiving features.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Replying to a Joopz-sent SMS on your phone will send the message to a conversation window on the sender's side as long as they have Joopz running. Otherwise it will show up the next time they log in. Conversations look similar to an iChat transcript, with neat-looking colored bubbles and time stamps. The Joopz conversation doesn't have the kinetic flow of a normal IM chat, but it's simple to sign up and get started. Conversations are logged, but you can't check the history without being a premium member. In an age when Google caches every chat in Google Talk, it's disappointing to see this archiving feature require a subscription.
In addition to SMS functionality, Joopz also includes basic organizational features. You can set reminders for yourself that arrive via SMS on your phone. You'll also eventually be able create a small database of your contacts, so you can easily message them without digging for numbers on your mobile phone.
There are some serious limitations to this service, mainly the cap of 10 outgoing messages for nonpremium members. The $3 monthly fee for premium membership seems fairly reasonable, but if you include the fees for [incoming] text messages from your phone carrier, the bills can add up pretty quickly, unless you have a generous text messaging plan from your wireless carrier. Also, most new phones include IM clients, which means creating a dummy account for an IM-enabled phone could achieve the same effect as Joopz without the middle man. Where Joopz comes in handy is for all those users who aren't willing to go through that effort and are looking for a simple, browser-based texting solution.
UPDATE: Joopz has told us there are no text messaging charges for the mobile phone user while sending outgoing messages to a Joopz user. Your carrier also won't charge you for sending messages via Joopz. There's more information on the Joopz FAQ.
UPDATE x2 (From MobileSphere): "Any message sent by Joopz and received on a mobile phone will occur a charge by the receiving party whether as a part of a sms/data plan or per unit if the user does not have a plan. Now, if a Joopz subscriber has forwarding activated he/she will be charged for each SMS that is being forwarded to his/her phone. The same goes for reminders."
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