Instant Messaging With A Difference


by Pmcindoe - Date: 2007-12-21 - Word Count: 482 Share This!

As far as methods of communication go, instant messaging falls somewhere in between actually picking up the phone to speak to someone and sending them an email. Options such as the Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger allow people to log on to their computers and chat live with anyone on their list who is also showing as being online.

It's a system that has been embraced by friends, relatives, business clients and many other people alike, but the one disadvantage it has is that it requires you to be sitting at your computer. There hasn't been any other way to use this technology - up until now.

You probably use your mobile phone for sending plenty of texts to your friends as well as to actually phone them, but there are handsets available now that allow you to indulge in some instant messaging as well.

Some of these phones - such as the Skypephone for example - allow you to enjoy the benefits of instant messaging for free, if the person you are talking to has the same phone or other Skype-enabled mobile device.

You might be wondering why instant messages are more appealing than texts. The fact is, when you send a text you have no way of knowing what the person you sent it to is doing, much less when or if they have picked it up. You simply have to wait for a reply.

Using an instant messaging system is very different. When you use the system on your computer you can instantly see who is online and available to read an instant message, who is offline, and who is showing as ‘away' or ‘back soon'. This will give you an idea of whether you can send a message or not.

If you know the person you want to speak to is online, you will be far more likely to send them an instant message than try to text them as it will appear virtually straightaway on their phone. Texts can sometimes be delayed in getting through - and if the recipient's inbox is full, that text may not even be received at all.

In this sense, a mobile phone which is capable of sending and receiving instant messages is more intelligent than a standard mobile. Although this kind of mobile messaging is still fairly new and unusual to us, as time goes by and they become more widespread, they will become more familiar to us and a bigger part of our everyday lives.

The possibilities of this kind of phone are promising. Business owners can now be more available to their clients at all times, even when they are not at their computer. Parents can get in touch with their children and chat even when they are out and about.

The instant messaging phone is about to take mobile communication to new heights.
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Paul McIndoe is an online, freelance journalist and keen hillwalker. He lives in Edinburgh with his two dogs.

Related Tags: internet, mobile phone, mobile, instant messaging, texts, skypephone, instant message

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