Message for free, with IM for Nokia

GLOBAL – SMS addicts unite. Now you can send messages to your friends, for as long as you like, for free. IM for Nokia lets you connect to your friends, colleagues or family members through Nokia’s own instant messaging client. Read on, where we’ll tell you all about it.

Phone calls are one thing. SMS is another. Both very good ways of chatting to people. However, if you’ve got free WiFi access or a reasonable data plan, then instant messaging may well be a preferable option.

Instant Messaging on Nokia devices, delivered through the Chat application, allows you to keep chatting while on the go. Access to all of your favorite IM communities, such as Windows Live Messenger™ Yahoo!® Messenger, Google Talk™, MySpace and Ovi Chat – available on your Nokia phone. For Nokia S60 Symbian smart phones, the Chat application had been pre-loaded on earlier phones but starting in the second half of 2011, it will be available from the Ovi Store directly for end-user installation. For Nokia S40 feature phones, the Chat application continues to be pre-loaded on all phones giving you the same access to any of the above major IM communities.

Getting started

Download IM for Nokia from Ovi Store, load the app in the applications menu of your Nokia phone and log in using your Ovi account username and password, the same one you use when downloading from Ovi Store. Press the menu button on the bottom left of the screen and Add friends. Type in your friends Ovi email address to add them to your contacts list and when they’re online, you’ll see them added to your Friends list. You can also log into the other accounts – such as Google Talk – by going through the same process, but selecting the appropriate account.

How to chat

Find one of your friends in the list, press their name and your phone will open a chat window. Type your message into the text bar at the bottom of the screen and when you’re done, press the send arrow next to the text box. Forgot that smiley face? Press the face button to send that much needed ;-)

After you’ve finished your chat, press the options menu again, scroll down and press the Hide option. This will keep this app running in the background so that people can still contact you throughout the day and vice-versa without having to log in again.

The nice homescreen widget reminds you that you’re online and if you’re chatting to anybody, plus the included button for switching to Do not disturb for when you’d rather be left alone for a while, or the Invisible mode, amongst others. For those of you running a phone with S40 as its operating system, this app – named Nokia Chat on S40 phones – comes pre-installed and the homescreen widget is still available, however there’s not the option to change your chat availability.

We left IM for Nokia running throughout the day, connected to WiFi and it was a good fun way to chat amongst ourselves without accruing any costs. We also got the same great chat experience when not connected to our WiFi hotspots, and the costs were taken care of through our data plans.

Download the app and get some other friends on-board to start messaging. IM for Nokia is available for Nokia X6, Nokia 5230, Nokia N8, Nokia E7 and some more. It’s also available for Series 40 phones under the name of Nokia Chat, too. Check out Ovi Store for more details.