Filed under: Beta Beat, iPhone
Beta Beat: MobileChat iPhone AIM Client debuts
Gallery: MobileChat
Stop the presses! Today brings not just one iPhone IM beta--but two. The MobileChat iPhone AIM client just showed up on Installer.app. It lacks Apollo IM's run-in-the-background features but it brings an attractive client with both talk bubbles and Away/Available message control. The gallery that accompanies this post allows you to see the software in action. It's pretty basic but its undeniably slick looking. I don't quite get the half-a-parrot-head as an icon though.
Thanks to everyone who wrote in.


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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Pauldy said 3:42PM on 9-04-2007
The icon appears to be the adium icon. I for one am excited to see these apps comming to the iphone. Maybe soon we will have an applicaiton as good as adium on the iphone which will just make my day.
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GQmacguy said 3:45PM on 9-04-2007
Hey Erica, what is the "push2talk" icon there...?
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Aron Trimble said 4:01PM on 9-04-2007
Erica will you fix the icon for SendSong.app so it has a transparent background instead of a black background?
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Devon said 4:05PM on 9-04-2007
"I don't quite get the half-a-parrot-head as an icon though."
Adium icon...
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Aron Trimble said 4:22PM on 9-04-2007
Thanks Erica, the icon looks great, you are the bomb-diggity!
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Rob Griffiths said 5:01PM on 9-04-2007
I can't login to my .Mac account with either of these chat apps -- I have to use a true AIM ID. Has anyone had any luck logging in using a .Mac address?
-rob.
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coolkamio said 5:44PM on 9-04-2007
"It lacks Apollo IM's run-in-the-background features"
What??
Have you tried it?
It does have that feature, you could even receive messages with the iPhone in sleep mode..
And it doesn't disconnects when you switch between EDGE & WiFi.. Or when you receive a call..
It's really great..
@Rob..
No, currently there is no support for .Mac accounts. Only AIM. But you can send messages to .Mac contacts..
I'm looking for a solution to copy .Mac contacts to my AIM account...
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Nate said 5:45PM on 9-04-2007
Rob, I'm with you on that. I use .Mac and neither of the two IM iPhone apps support it. Boo.
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InfoMofo said 7:26PM on 9-04-2007
I'm using v.2.3 of Installer, and I still don't see this package anywhere.
Anyone have a link to the binary?
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JKT said 9:21PM on 9-04-2007
Erica, what do you use as your chat client under Mac OS X? Adium has become the de facto chat app because it's based on LibPurple and therefore benefits from all the cross-platform chat development that that base brings with it. I'm sure you spend most of your time developing for the iPhone these days (kudos!) but do give Adium a try (adiumx.com).
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rob mcq said 8:35AM on 9-05-2007
I'm not pleased with either app.
I tried appollo first on to have it crash every time I tried to sign in.
With mobile chat I'm a bit pissed since I've had to go find a wireless hotspot to restore my iPhone using iTunes (the phone will not power off, or respond at all for the last hour)
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Greg said 2:36PM on 9-05-2007
Nicely done, but god forbid that you should be logged in elsewhere. MobileChat throws up the AOL system message advising that you are logged in elsewhere and asking you to reply to the message with a '1.' And that completely completely locks up the iPhone. And I mean completely.
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Charlie said 10:04PM on 9-07-2007
What the hell is the story with the audio ads? When I loaded this page an ad for ringtones automatically played some garbage pop song. Fairest TUAW, mine affections for thee shriveleth...
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Myles Geloneck said 12:01AM on 9-15-2007
Does this use the text message?
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charlie said 11:50AM on 9-18-2007
Anyone know why only half of my buddy list is showing up? i tried changing to apolo too and only a few of my contacts show up on either. Is there a setting i hvae to change?
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brandon said 4:06PM on 9-25-2007
I installed it, installed that chat and it worked great, until i connected it to ITUNES and i got this mean warning telling me that the Firmware on the phone was not the original and i needed to restore. I had no CHOICE but to RESTORE my iphone, it locked up telling i had to restore before use.
So i guess ill be waiting to see if apple ever releases an ICHAT/MMS update.
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Michael said 6:29PM on 10-29-2007
hi i got the mobile chat app and it doesnt work on my iphone same with send song can you please help me with this i would greatly appreciate it!
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Michael said 9:47PM on 10-29-2007
so i downloaded the bsd system and the send song is working but the mobile chat isnt it says please wait connecting but i stays on there and doesnt do anything...any help?
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myst0ne said 12:20PM on 11-22-2007
i have this app but it freezes the fone after like 5 messages is it just my phone or is this a bug thats yet to b worked out
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