Up until a few years ago, people who wanted to instant message with friends were required to sign up for a screenname, then download and install client software. After 2000, a string of open-source clients came along allowing users to download and use a single program to access contacts across multiple IM networks.
Today, however, browser-based IMs are gaining in popularity, allowing users to access all their friends via a single website without having to install an IM client.
The Clients
The following list highlights just some of the best browser-based clients, based on our own user testing:
- Meebo: Launched in September 2005, Meebo is one of the fastest-growing broswer-based IMs, with users exchanging over 100 million instant messages, according to their website. The client allows users to log on and chat with contacts from AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo!, Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ and Jabber; users also have the option of signing up for a free account, managing client screennames and passwords and making future sign-ins easier. Meebo also offers Meebo Rooms, dedicated user chatrooms allowing multiple contacts to converse in one single chat window.
- KoolIM: For students and employees facing the grave circumstance of firewalls and proxy servers on their school or work networks, KoolIM is great browser-based messenger to use when communication is absolutely necessary. This client allows users to sign up for a free account to manage screennames and passwords for AIM, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo!, Google Talk, ICQ, Gadu Gadu and Xfire; users can also sign in to each messenger individually, although an account is recommended.
- Gmail: While not technically a browser-based IM but a free e-mail client, Gmail now allows users to access all their contacts on Google’s Talk instant messaging client. In GMail, a Quick Contacts box appears along the left side of the screen, allowing users to click and send IMs through the e-mail client. When another user sends an instant message, the IM appears in the bottom right-hand corner, allowing users to chat with them there or expand the conversation to its own browser window. This feature works on both Windows IE 6.0, Firefox 1.0 and later versions of both browsers. Note, the only missing feature between GMail and Talk is the free computer-to-computer VoIP phone call capability.
- Ajax IM: Named after the tools used to create similar browser-based IMs, Ajax IM gives users the opportunity to launch their own IM client for their blog, website or social networking experiments. The client works similarly to the clients mentioned above, but does not allow users to connect with contacts on popular standard IM clients, such as AOL Instant Messenger or Yahoo!. Download is free on Ajax’s website.
How They’re Made
Most of these clients utilize AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), a combination of web developer tools, to create rich, interactive, user-friendly web clients. The seamless experience seen by most users relies on a noteworthy efficiency by AJAX developers, allowing these applications to receive and send messages without the need to reload the browser each time.
Most AJAX-based IM clients are free or shareware clients, operable on different operating systems and browsers.
