IM+ Pro

Summary

According to the media, I am part of the so-called Always Online Generation. I’m assuming that most our readers fall under this category as well. Our smartphones accompany us wherever we are. And many of us use several different instant messaging accounts to stay in touch with friends and family. For my part, I’m constantly on Skype, Facebook Chat and MSN. IM+ Pro combines all the biggest IM services under one umbrella.

Find out more details about the app’s messaging capabilities below.
 

IM+ Pro is a multi-messenger that allows you to connect to several IM services with one single app. This app spares you the need to download a special app for each individual IM client. You can read and send all your instant messages from IM+ Pro hassle-free.

There are two versions of this app. IM+ is free, but you have to put up with annoying ads. IM+ Pro is the paid version of the same app albeit completely ad-free. In the free version, the ads take up large amounts of the screen. Frequent IM users should definitely invest in the paid version to have an all-around better experience.

IM+ Pro supports the following clients:

• Skype for Android
• AOL
  
• MSN
  
• Facebook for Android
• Yahoo!
  
• Google Talk
  
• Jabber
  
• ICQ
  
• MySpace

Feel free to add as many of these accounts as you have. You can either have all IM clients running at the same time or selectively pick where you want to be seen. Don’t feel like being on Facebook, but still need to receive important Skype messages? Just adjust the settings to fit your personal needs.

Different settings and preferences can be adjusted in the main menu. The good thing about IM+ Pro is that it’s fully customizable. Access the main menu by going to Account Overview  Menu Button  Settings

General Settings

All of these settings can be activated with a checkmark:

Show groups: display your groups as defined in every client
Hide offline contacts: this option is useful in getting rid of a lot of needless clutter
Show offline groups
Save history: I couldn’t find the location where all the protocols are saved. I can’t say for sure if the conversations get saved to the SD card to save space
Send messages on ‘Enter’ key: self-explanatory
Show IM+ icon in status bar
Block messages from users not on your contact list
Disable avatars (saves traffic): a neat option that saves you data traffic. Not important for users with unlimited data plans.

Notifications
Here you can adjust your notifications settings for incoming messages with chechmarks:

• Popup at the bottom of the screen
• Vibration
• Sound

Advanced

IM+ Pro is definitely not a battery saver. The app uses a lot of battery power because it is constantly connected with outside servers in order for you to be online around the clock. As a result, your battery gets drained relatively quickly.

Here you can switch the app to Power Save Mode in which you phone automatically disconnects as soon as your phone goes to sleep. While it does significantly prolong your battery life, it prevents other people from connecting with you when your screen is of. Ultimately, the choice is yours whether to activate this feature.

Additional features

You can add contacts to your respective IM clients directly from the app without having to access each service individually. That’s a real time-saver!

IM+ Pro can also:
Display chat history with individual contacts
Display contact information
Block contacts

Bottom Line:

There are definitely a lot of multi-messengers out there. Despite the range and variety of apps available, IM+ Pro happens to be my personal favorite. All my favorite IM clients are supported and each service’s most important features are available directly through the app. You can forget about logging in to 3-4 different account - because with IM+ Pro you can keep in touch with all your contacts from one centralized app.
 

IM+ Pro has a neat user interface. It looks clean and modern. All the main features are easy and intuitive to use. There are, however, a couple of weak points, especially with some of the submenus. Since you navigate from screen to screen using the Back button, you can accidentally close the app by pressing it one time too many. Not a major nuisance in my book.

IM+ Pro may take a while to connect with all the servers. I doubt that this has anything to do with app itself. I experienced two forced closures recently, but I was glad to see that I could send an error report to the developers after every crash. This lets the developers get rid of any bugs or glitches and create a better update for all users.

IM+ Pro is available fro $4.95 from the Android Market. There is also a free version with ads.