
Cerulean Studios can finally let out a sigh of relief, as their multiservice IM client that was formerly
only available for Windows has finally made its way into the App Store after
spending months in the approval process. Now the question is, is it any good?
Trillian was built to be a fast, easy to use, and reliable chat client for the iPhone and iPod touch. It supports multiple chat services at launch, including AIM, ICQ, WIndows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and Google Talk, with many more to be added "soon." The app also features multiple account support, the ability to stay signed in for up to 24 hours, "intelligent" push notifications, global status control, and much more.
Trillian is also able to stay synchronized across multiple clients, which means if you change your avatar, display name, or add a contact, it will immediately be reflected on the Windows
Trillian client, or vice versa. With
Trillian, you will never be out of sync whether you are on the go or sitting at home.
There is no doubt
Trillian is meant to compete with the likes of
Beejive and
IM+. It is priced very competitively at $4.99, and it contains many of the features available in both of those paid chat apps. The problem with
Trillian, at least at the moment, is that you get what you pay for.
Trillian doesn't support Facebook, Twitter, or Skype at this time, and it doesn't support landscape typing. Early iTunes reviews have also questioned some of the interface decisions, such as the large amount of space reserved at the top of the contact list screen for your avatar. But these things can be worked out over time, and the developers have promised to do just that.
If you are a patient person willing to wait for some key additions via updates,
Trillian may just be the perfect chat app for you, especially if you are an avid Windows
Trillian user. If not, you may just want to stick with your current app until Cerulean Studios has had more time to make some improvements.
[Thanks to Dave for the tip!]