iChat and AIM for iPhone
I like my iPhone very much, but I was unhappily surprised to learn that it doesn't have iChat and AIM built into it. I suspect this is because AT&T wants you to get used to paying for SMS. But I just learned about a service called JiveTalk that lets you use instant messaging on your iPhone. I tried the alpha version it and it seems to work well.
Future versions promise to include buddy list management, privacy controls, and the ability to email your chats. LinkJiveTalk for iPhone (alpha) Features:
• Multiple IM networks, multiple accounts per network: AIM®/iChat, MSN®, Yahoo!®, GoogleTalk®, ICQ®, and Jabber
• Automatically reconnects in case of data service disruption, including phone calls, loss of cell coverage
• Real-time chats, quick switch between multiple simultaneous chats, intuitive chat interface: - click to browse, call, or send an email directly from the chat screen
• SSL encryption of all over-the-air data transmission
