We are on a quest to try and find top 3 chat applications that are available for Symbian^3 the OS Running on the N8. There are a couple of really big chat applications available for Symbian. There are a couple of things that I rate the chat applications on:
1. Efficiency – are they efficient and not going to suck away at your battery life?
2. Cross Platform – Are you going to be able to communicate with your friends on other platforms
3. Usability/Design – Is it easy to use and start a chat, and is it visually appealing?
4. Features – Are there a lot of cool features?
1. Nimbuzz – Currently we have found that there though this messenger seems bulky this application is the most feature complete as it has its own dedicated user base, as well as allowing you to communicate over MSN Messenger, Facebook Chat, Google Chat, as well as a variety of other services. As well they are VOIP provider allowing you to make network calls. This app needs to improve their ability to automatically select the network interface to use, as it makes the user experience weird. On my N8 running on rogers in Canada, when first starting the application on a 3G network a modal view is brought up asking me connect to a wireless network. If I did not select a wireless network Interface the application would crash and force me to select a wireless network. If this was intended as a feature, then please take it out, or allow the application to select a default network interface to connect on.
2. Skype – Everyone knows Skype, but it seems like they can’t get the user experience right on Symbian^3. This application was seemed slower to load and killed my battery life. I did really enjoy the audio quality on VOIP calls, when it comes to VOIP providers, Skype team knows what they are doing. The Good thing about Skype is that they still have a massive cross platform support for their own skype user base.
3. WhatsApp – I never really liked whatsApp on Android or Iphone (Iphone client they charge for), and I really didn’t like it on Symbian though It was very lean on battery and the it does not really feel well. As well, it would bring itself in focus at the most random times. And very often times crashes when the phone is in Offline mode.
In summary I liked Nimbuzz the most, but I think we need another messenger client to enter the game on Symbian that will really stand out in by their User Experience and efficiency. Since Nokia has just released their first set of devices with the Notifications API, many of the symbian chat apps keep constant network connections and thus eat your battery.
If you have any suggestions as to other messenger clients for the Nokia N8 ( I have already looked over IM+), then leave me a comment below.
