FlickIM to bring instant messaging and media sharing to iPhone

The lack of instant messaging in the iPhone seems to be getting a lot of attention from the iPhone hackers or developers, we first had GearLive publishing a tutorial to help you run IRC on the iPhone, then it was Cerulean Studios inviting iPhone users to join their beta test program for Trillian Astra on the iPhone, we now have Next3 launching their own instant messenger for the iPhone, dubbed FlickIM.

Unlike Trillian Astra which is expected to work with a whole host of instant messaging programs like AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC, FlickIM is an AIM only chat program for iPhone’s Safari browser. So it will let you log in to AIM and allow you to chat with your existing buddy list.

However, folks at Next3 are trying to compensate its limited instant messaging compatibility by allowing you to easily search for and send links to YouTube videos and Apple movies over IM by typing /y or /t before the search term. It pops up a window where you can pick the right video. Since AT&Ts EDGE connection can be spotty, FlickIM will even save messages if your friends IM while you’re off-line. FlickIM brings in an interesting way of media sharing on the iPhone.

In order to manage multiple chat conversations they have also added orange bubbles to allow you to switch easily between your ongoing conversations. The user interface looks quite cool in the image above.

FlickIM should be available shortly, so try it out and see if you like it and yeah, don't forget to let us know of your experience in the comments.

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