iPhone App Review: iPhone port of AIM is close, but not quite there

Filed under: Social Software, AOL, iPhone

iPhone App Review: iPhone port of AIM is close, but not quite there

by Jay Hathaway Jul 13th 2008

One of the most striking things about the first crop of iPhone apps is the divide between those that work with the phone's user interface, and those that either don't take advantage of the phone or ignore the design specs altogether. The AOL Instant Messenger app for iPhone scores points in some UI areas, but could be more intuitive and feel more like an iPhone app in others.

We've got no complaints about the look of AIM, but there are some places where it doesn't feel right. For example, we were really hoping for a horizontal mode in this app, to take advantage of the wider keyboard. Groups are supported, but you can only view them one at a time, which makes them much less useful than on desktop versions of AIM. While a mobile AIM app like this is a dream we've had since high school, we favor the more intuitive Meebo mobile web app. It supports mutliple chat clients, too ... can we get an app store version of that?

Oh, and here's a tip, because we've seen a lot of people confused by this: to change your screenname, you have to go to your iPhone Settings. It's not in the AIM app itself.

Tags: AIM, AOL Instant Messenger, AolInstantMessenger, app store, AppStore, chat, iPhone, iphone applications, iphone apps, IphoneApplications, IphoneApps

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Ben said 12:45PM on 7-13-2008

Is it just me or does it not do to well when people message me and I don't have the app open, it sees that someone messaged me but doesn't show the message.

-ben

Jon said 2:34PM on 7-13-2008

I experience the same thing.... only think I can think is the notification service is part of the mobileme service which is still flaky at best.

Tom said 4:24PM on 7-13-2008

Semi-reply: The notification service isn't up until September.

New post: Yeah, too bad it can't compare to MobileChat, ApolloIM, and Agile Messenger, all of which are available for FREE on Jailbroken iPhones and support multiple IM services (all the main ones).

Rizzle said 6:09PM on 7-13-2008

I'm one of the developers of AIM and wanted to say thanks for reviewing it! A couple of notes:

Yes, the notification service by Apple is not ready until September. When it is released, we'll be ready :)

It was a whirlwind building the app from March till now, and now that the dust is settling, it's great to see all the real-world feedback from the users!

jjacobn said 10:36PM on 7-13-2008

There's a great review of the AOL Radio and Where apps on Valet magazine.
http://www.valetmag.com/the-mix/071408.php/

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