[Ben]

I stopped using MSN/Live! Messenger and Google Talk, my every-day IM apps, with any regularity quite some time ago now. To a certain extent Facebook and Twitter have replaced them, as have long mail conversations on my iPhone, but I'm curious - what apps are you using to keep in touch these days?

Maybe you're all still using Messenger/GTalk or perhaps our attention spans and busy lives just don't condone things like real-time IM apps anymore?

It must've been years since I had the time of an evening to spend a few hours catching up with everyone by IM.

[miffed]

When I first got an Android phone , I set up an account on iChat , and used it as an "always on" connection with my White iMac , which lived in the kitchen at the time - Also since then I set up Fring accounts between my wife's and my own iPhone - But this has all fallen by the wayside , with SMS's being so cheap , we have just resorted to using those and email.
I really liked the GTalk integration on Android , seeing as I use Gmail as my main email account , it was pretty cool that If the wife (and a few others) sent me a message , I'd get on on my phone , or on whatever computer I happened to be using , - I thought it was the future , but as I said , I just got bored with the occasional unreliability , and went back to SMS

[Ben]

Hm yes I think I remember you mentioning GTalk. I accidentally received a few messages on it on my Nexus One the other day, lol. Was quite a surprise.

SMS is still pretty massive for me. I mail where I can (mostly to iPhone users...) because, well, I like it! Only works well when you know your message is getting pushed to someone else's pocket, though.

[miffed]

I agree , Push mail is the way forward - but it needs EVERYONE to be using it to be effective , I have people I SMS that I know have push mail , but they simply don't read their mails instantly as they would with an SMS, - why ? because the majority of people that want an instant response contact them via SMS ! ...so we just go around in circles here.
Unified inboxes may be the way forward - if Pushed mail were to pop up in the SMS inbox then things may move forward (IIRC isn't this how blackberries work ? ) On the subject of BB's , it is interesting to see the exchanging of BB Pins among users , I wonder if the likes of Apple would ever implement such a service ? - Still cant see it being superior to push mail , I love the fact that someone can send be a few words of text , OR a large documents via the same pathway , and that I can receive it on whatever phone I am using (regardless of provider) - or ..if I am at a remote workplace , I can use THEIR computer to log on and print the document out in seconds.

[@NickyColman]

How do I keep in touch? WELL! It varies really from person to person.

Recently I've tried to limit the calls & SMS' i send, in favour of using the internet instead. So where normally I'd arrange something non-urgent via text, I now do it via Facebook etc.

For instant, one-to-one chat, I have 'BeeJive' for iPhone that aggregates all my online IM clients into one (MobileMe, GoogleTalk, Windows Live! Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger)

I've also convinced my nearest and dearest to switch to using messaging apps that require no calling credit and only an internet connection to function (Textie for iPhone, WhatsApp messenger etc). I'm also using Skype where possible or Vonage for Facebook to avoid using conventional phone allowance.

It seems to be working quite well! A LOT easier now that iPhone has well and truly made it mainstream. Apps have opened up a world of communication possibilities for the average user now. As more and more services come online and others starting provide cross-platform messaging solutions (WhatsApp for iPhone/BlackBerry and soon Android, Hello! Messenger for iPhone/BlackBerry) I'm finding it easier to stay in touch - for free.

I wouldnt be surprised if we soon see an iPad-style device that has nothing but a data connection allowing internet only communication. Mark my words today :D!

[colin25]

For me it is msn (windows live messenger)...I use it on my nexus as well..chat with my contacts at work and home (and bus etc).

But only as they use it as well.

[@NickyColman]

I like the ability to cut out the middle man IE the network provider. It means, if i've got a problem with my sim, I can bang in another or switch to only wifi and still be in touch with people! :D

[gorilla]

I don't use my phone to communicate. I've cut my minutes down to 100 as I rarely call anybody. I have 1gb of data and unlimited sms in that deal, so when I need to contact someone, it'll be by sms or some online method. I'm a fan of IM as a lot of 'conversations' I have are spontaneous and driven by the fact I can see when someone is available, but this is limited to me as few of my friends use IM. They are all Luddites! If there was a reliable skype app for android I'd use that, but there's not.

[solo12002]

Thing about BBM is its free so thers no cost to send messages etc. What I think shouds happen is networks increase the 140/160 letters per text to double that figure .

I tend to use Text, email or ring but again with three you gett 2000 mins/5000 text to any network and 5000 mins to other three users so I use what I can.. Facebook is fine but faster with text or email

[Ben]

They can't increase the 140 byte limit in SMS messaging, it'd be a global compatibility disaster. The only good thing about SMS messaging is the almost global compatibility.

Most modern phones offer almost unlimited concatenation, and with SMS allowances being so generous now on most contract tariffs I think the technology has a long life yet.

For anyone wondering who doesn't know, it's something called GSM encoding that gives 160 characters out of those 140 bytes. It uses just 7 bits per character, which still gives a character set large enough for most western languages.

I'm finding increasingly that the channel of communication I use most varies on who I'm talking to most at the time. I'll swing wildly between SMS and mobile email, with the odd fling with BeeJive, depending on where the person I want to talk to 'lives'.