IM+ Pro for Android

CNET Editors' review

by: Jaymar Cabebe on July 28, 2011

IM+ takes all the fuss out of mobile instant messaging by enabling you to connect to your Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, AIM, Facebook, and other IM accounts, all from a single application window. With its clean design and simple user interface, chatty folks on the go may wonder how they ever lived without it.

Under the Contacts tab, all of your contacts are compiled in a single list. That way, you don't have to bother with switching among accounts in order to chat. In fact, once you're on IM+, you should feel absolutely no distinction between the different instant messaging services, which is really the beauty of the app.

Starting a chat is as easy as tapping on any contact from your list. You can also long-press any contact to get more info, edit a contact, or see chat history. Within conversations, IM+ performs just as smoothly as any desktop chat client. We like that it offers emoticons, but at the same time, it's a shame that non-IM+ users can't see them in all their full-color glory. It would've been nice if IM+ offered each service's specific set of animated emoticons for you to use.

If you don't like tapping the same responses all the time, IM+ lets you create templates that are retrievable from within any conversation. It also lets you send photos or audio to your chat buddy by generating a link for you to include in your messages.

It's no secret that there are several all-in-one chat clients available for Android, most of which perform their duties just fine. However, what really impressed us about IM+ were its simple UI and the many added conveniences it gives its users. In addition to the file attachments and the emoticons, IM+ offers a certain level of customization. You can change font sizes, avatars, notifications, and more. There's also a convenient Push mode that can keep you signed on even after you exit the application.

Overall, we think IM+ is a winner, and we highly recommend the download. The free IM+ is ad-supported, and the paid IM+ Pro is ad-free and gives you Push mode up to seven days.