IM+ Pro
Description of App
As described in the iTunes Store:
All-in-One app for GTalk, Yahoo, MSN/Live Messenger, AIM/iChat, ICQ, MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, Jabber and Skype chat.
Universal iPad / iPhone / iPod app with full iOS 4 multitasking support!
NO COST PER MESSAGE! Send photos, voice msgs, and IM for FREE and save on MMS/SMS!
No pre-registration required. Just enter your account in the IM network and start the chat right away.
Stay connected even after closing IM+: you'll be notified about new IM in all supported networks via Apple Push Notifications.
NEW EMAIL PUSH NOTIFICATIONS - Get notified instantly when a new email arrives in your mailbox. Supports Hotmail, Yahoo, and GMail.
SPEECH RECOGNITION (as in-app purchase) - The very FIRST and the ONLY speech recognition service for instant messaging on iPhone! Easy as 1-2-3. Dictate messages instead of typing them in! Offered on a monthly basis. English only.
SEND PHOTO / VOICE MSGS / VIDEO and IM for FREE - IM+ uses your existing data plan or Wi-Fi connection. Voice messages are sent as MP3 files and can be played back on any Mac, PC, or mobile.
SKYPE CHAT - Chat with your Skype buddies! Incoming Skype call can be recorded and played back instantly as a voice message.
TWITTER - View friends' timeline, favorites, direct messages and replies. Update your Twitter with voice, photo or geo-location messages. ReTweet, Geo Timeline, and Search!
CUSTOM STATUS and GEO-LOCATION - Use your own status messages and let your friends easily find you on a map by setting geo-location as a dynamic status message.
BUILT-IN BROWSER - Multi-task with a built-in browser! Surf the web and open links from conversations without leaving IM+.
APPLE PUSH NOTIFICATIONS - Stay connected even after closing IM+! You'll be notified when you receive a new IM or when certain contact comes online (customizable) in all supported networks up to 7 days after closing the application! (Note: Due to technical reasons IM+ keeps Skype connected up to 2 hours only. Time allowed for Skype Push may be increased soon)
ANIMATED EMOTICONS - IM+ is the only application in AppStore with cool looking animated emoticons! Emoticons can be turned on or off.
EMOJI - Emoji smileys/emoticons on your iPhone and iPod Touch! No more spending money on a special app for that!
CUSTOMIZABLE SOUNDS - Use different sounds for different events in IM+: incoming message, contact coming online, push alert, etc.
With IM+ you are guaranteed that new and revolutionary features will arrive every month!
Other features:
- Customized IM+ look with wallpapers from your Photo library or from IM+
- Animated emoticons
- Avatar support
- Copy/Paste
- Multiple accounts per network
- Multi-lingual support. Chat in any language supported by your iPhone/iPod Touch
- Landscape mode. Convenient typing
Note: We cannot answer you in comments. Please contact us via Feedback right from IM+ or via Twitter (@implus).
Version
Free or Paid
Compatibility
Accessibility Comments
This app seems to be fully VoiceOver accessible. The developers, Shape Services, made a commitment to the accessibility of IM+ and it shines through in this version. All buttons and controls appear to be well labeled and all elements are available in the flicking order so that direct touching of specific areas of the screen is not required. Incoming messages are not automatically spoken by VoiceOver, but a sound is played. Shape Services needs to hear our heartfelt thanks for their willingness to make IM+ accessible through our continued feedback and our purchases. The company also needs to hear our encouragement to maintain accessibility as IM+ moves forward, to engage blind beta testers and add VoiceOver accessibility to the rest of its products.
Comments
#1 So our we paying for the accessibility
Can you tell me weather the free version contains these vo compatibilities? or do we have to pay for an accessible version of the IMPlus. as you know they have a lite version which is cheaper or free and I expect or would hope to find accessibility to be present in that version as well. and if not I would like to ask the shape services why they felt it is not justified in that version
#2 Patience is a Virtue My Friends
I believe VoiceOver accessibility came to IM+ Pro first simply because it was the next product to be updated in their development cycle. I received word from my source at Shape Services that IM+ Lite will get accessibility by the end of August. Please, everyone, be patient and stay tuned. They're working with us now.
#3 Glad I'm not alone
It's nice to see other people noticing the mishap in logic of forced paying for accessibility. They have a free version, that should be accessible from the same time.
#4 Lite version has VO fixes
Just FYI, the free version also now has the Voice Over accessibility. So if you don't want the extra features like Skype and 7 day logout time, then go cheap and get the free version. It's still accessible.
#5 IM+Pro
hi, I have IM+Lite and it is completely accessible as well. all gestures work the same as in the Pro version. you just don't have all the features of the pro version.
#6 Issue when adding facebook account
Upon reaching the point in the setup wizard where I was supposed to enter my details, I saw nothing notable beyond a next button and a back button. Upon hitting next, I was presented with an alert which said to please tap connect so that my account details could be validated. I felt all around the screen both at the initial facebook setup screen and when I received the previously described popup alert. I saw no connect button. So I tried to add my account later and got similar results. I saw a done button and an unlabeled button. Tapping this unlabeled button yielded no results. Upon tapping done, I received the popup alert again.
#7 Issues navigating the edit field and sending voice messages
In the current version 5.2 it is not possible to navigate the content of the edit field by word or character using the rotor or a connected bluetooth keyboard. Also, when trying to send a voice message the App will crash and you'll have to exit it using the app switcher. I've contacted the developer about both issues before the current version came out. They were able to reproduce these behaviors and have promised improvements.
#8 Lite version accessibility problems on iOS5
I just got the lite version of this app (I'll get the full version once the lite version proves to me that it's worth it). I am running iOS5 and have found VO problems.
1. You can't flick left or right to get to controls.
2. Double tapping a tab on the bottom does not change the screen, so the app is unuseable because the "more" tab, where I assume settings to be, refuses to work.
3. Minor, but the two buttons I can see are labeled with a graphic name instead of a true text name.
Overall, the app is unuseable at this time, at least in my experience.
#9 this app's performance on iOS5
I'm currently running iOS 5 on my iPhone 4S, and am wondering if paying the $10 is a necessary purchase for this app? It's not so much paying I'm wondering about, just wondering if the app would still benefit me, given the enhansements Apple's built into iOS5? Also, how's VoiceOver behaving with the app now? Thanks!
#10 Purchased this app
I purchased this app last night after having spare credit in my iTunes account, and so far I like it a lot. We are at version 6.x now, so don't know what has improved since 4.x or 5.x. But on the whole, the app runs excellent on both my iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4, both running iOS 5.1. No lagging whatsoever. Haven't tried the voice features yet, but will report back if it still crashes. I also haven't tried navigating the text fields in the chat window, but will again report back if I see any problems. Overall I love this app and would highly recommend it if you fancy chatting on the go. Doesn't seem to drain the battery all that much, however I don't have the app running all the time; I rely on the push notifications instead.