MSN Talk

Summary

Nowadays, almost every internet pilgrim has a messenger account. At the beginning of my internet career I decided on MSN Messenger, and that’s where I have most of my contacts to this day.

My list of contacts ranges from buddies to work colleagues and I regularly chat to people when I’m on the go. When I cam across the MSN Talk app I knew I had to write a review on it.

MSN Talk is made for people who use MSN Messenger by Microsoft—so for people all over the world. If you’re using you’re your computer to chat you can expand and customize the messenger according to your needs and desires.
But I want to be able to chat when I’m out and about, for instance if I’m in a store and need some advice about something. As previously mentioned, I have a lot of contacts in my messenger list, so it would be really convenient if I could use the service even when I’m not at home. According to MSN Talk’s market description, it’s the perfect application for what I’m looking for.

Signing up doesn’t take very long and my list of contacts is quickly synchronized, so that I can see all of my contacts on the list within a brief amount of time. The list itself is displayed in a very structured, simple kind of way, great for getting an overview of who is online and who is offline.

In order to start chatting, I click on one of my online buddy’s icon and a chat window appears into which I can punch in my text. If my buddy doesn’t respond right away I can always send them a Rrrring! which they will be able to hear on their computer provided they’ve got the volume turned on.

Whilst chatting you have several options: end the chat, send emoticons to your buddy, invite other people to chat with you, or read over your conversation so far.
You can use the menu button on the main screen to decide if you want to buy the Pro Version, change your profile picture, or change your status to Away, etc.
You can also use the general Settings to customize your chat window according to your color scheme preferences.

It would take a bit too long to list all the different settings, which is to say that there’s a lot of choice, ranging from “Idle status when display switches off” to “Connection”.

MSN Talk has earned a place on my homescreen. I’m absolutely thrilled about its range of functions, the settings, as well as the app’s speed.
There’s even a possibility that Messenger keeps running even though you’ve quit the program. As soon as a buddy contacts you you are notified by a message displayed in your status field; you can also choose in which color your LED should flash. You can also set to be notified each time a buddy signs in.
 

This app is relatively easy to use and can be downloaded in several different languages.

However... there’s that special extra something missing. Yes, the list of contacts is clear and concise, but somehow I’m not totally satisfied. I feel like a frame around the names would look good and give emphasis.

MSN Talk reacts quickly and runs smoothly. It didn’t crash or have error reports during testing phase.

I was able to chat with my buddies on several occasions, as well as send smileys into the ether. Logging in is a cinch, which is great as it won’t prevent you from wanting to chat.
 

This application is available for free from the Android Market and I would be willing to pay a small amount for this app, I like it that much.