AIM Triton for Windows

Time Warner Inc.'s America Online has upgraded its instant-message service to help win users and boost advertising sales.

The latest version of the software, to be made available over the next three months, improves existing voice and video chat services, and adds Internet calling and access to 20 XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. stations, AOL spokeswoman Krista Thomas said Tuesday.

The slogan of Triton is "I am everything you need to communicate". Here are the features included in this version:

• Now there's room in your Buddy List® feature for 500 of your closest friends. Organize your chats, your buddies' Away Messages, and use IM to send gigantic files.
• Use AIM Talk® to go from typing to talking, right from the comfort of your Buddy List® feature. Free.
• Look your buddies in the eye while you chat with them. Video chat lets you switch from an Instant Message chat to a high-quality video conference.
• AIM® Mail is a mere click away from the Instant Messenger™ service. With 2GBs of storage, a handy "Unsend" button and industry-leading spam and virus protection, AIM Mail is the only email you need.
• Now you can access your Buddy List® feature on your mobile device to send and receive IMs. You can also send IMs from your computer to your buddies' cell phones.
• Blogging directly from the messenger.

Click here to download.

Sony IVE - Instant Video Everywhere

Sony launched a new product - Sony IVE (Instant Video Everywhere), which allows you video and voice calling to the other IVE users for free.
You can call to cell-phones, too, but this is paid.

These are some of the most important features of Sony IVE:

• "Video Call Mailbox" - a mailbox for the missed calls;
• "Multy-Party calls" - You can instantly make a video call that includes multiple people at once - no matter if the other participants are on IVE, a regular telephone or cell phone or a traditional video conferencing system. You’ll see or hear everybody at once. Just like a chat room;
• Live Support
• Of course, you get a personal number

To download for free, click here.

Instant messengers becoming medium of choice

The researches show that more and more people are using Instant Messengers instead of emails.
Is the faster communication the only reason? Maybe the instant messaging is more like a live meeting between the people and this is really important for most of them.

This info is part of the results of the AOL's survey:

"Instant messaging is overtaking email as the preferred way to
communicate, especially among teens and young adults. Overall,
IM's are up 19 percent year over year, with many Americans sending
as many, if not more, IM's than they do emails, according to
AOL's Instant Messaging Trends Survey.

Thirty-eight percent of respondents say they send as many or more
IM's than emails. But for teens and young adults that number is
vastly higher with two-thrids reporting they send more IM's than
emails, up from 49 percent last year.

At work, 58 percent of IM users send instant messages to
colleagues for answers to questions, 49 percent to make business
decisions, and 29 percent use IM to interact with customers or
clients. Twelve percent have used IM to avoid a difficult
face-to-face conversation. "

Source: WebProNews

IM2 - Great and free messenger

IM2 (or Instant Messenger 2) is a good alternative of Trillian. You can use it for:

• MSN
  
• AIM
• ICQ
• IRC
• Yahoo

The interface is comfortable and IM2 supports skins if you want to change windows' view. It is translated to French, German, Russian, Italian and more languages.
Also IM2 allows secure encrypted chat, video and audio chat.

Click here to go to the official website of this project and here to download the current version.

Screenshots: 1

Updates:
03 February 2006 - IM2 2.0 FINAL
04 January 2006 - IM2 2.0 Build 268 RC8

New versions of some messengers

There are some new versions of popular instant messengers.

AOL Instant Messenger Triton 0.9.13 Beta
This new beta version can be downloaded here.

Miranda IM 0.4.0.3 Build 39 Beta
Also a beta version. Download here.

Google Talk 1.0.0.76
Download here.

QIP 2005a Build 7600
A new version of the Qip messenger. Download here.

Some of these messengers' features are described in other posts in this blog.