Seven Introduces Push IM for Instant Messaging on Windows Phones

Apple's 3.0 OS this past summer introduced push notifications, including push IM for those instant messaging developers that supported the protocol, as a balance and compromise between longer battery life and multi-tasking. Push on the iPhone was meant to ensure that users can get their messages delivered to them even if the application isn't running in the background, a means to conserve battery life. Now, Seven, a maker of push email services that has appeared on numerous devices through mobile operators and carriers, is announcing that they will be working with carriers to bring push instant messaging to the masses, supporting a number of different platforms--that includes Windows phones running Windows Mobile--and feature phones to bring AOL, Yahoo!, MSN Live, ICQ, and Google Talk messaging services to phones.

In comparison, traditional instant messaging clients on Windows Mobile devices required a constant internet connection. If you logged out or entered a no service zone, you would also log out of your IM service and not get notifications or messages delivered. With push IM, a constant connection is no longer needed.

According to Seven, the features are:

-- Desktop-like IM capabilities: the SEVEN Mobile IM user experience mirrors that of the desktop with functionality such as buddy lists, presence enablement, status updates, chat, and the ability to find and invite friends;

-- Fully certified and branded IM clients: the SEVEN Mobile IM application is branded to match the service provider’s identity; and, the certification process ensures reliability and a high quality of service;

-- An always-on user experience: the SEVEN Mobile IM client remains active in the background, and provides users with instant notification of status updates and incoming messages ― even when the device is busy with other tasks;

-- Smart, battery-saving notifications: with SEVEN’s push-based notifications, the device and the IM client are pinged only when new information needs to be delivered and helps to maximize battery life for the device.

The services will be demoed at the upcoming CTIA tradeshow in San Diego in October. In the interim, you can preview or sample the push IM services through the Seven portal, of which the original Touch Pro is supported--other devices may work though they may not be officially supported at this early stage.

(via: BusinessWire)