Slashdot Mirror
Is There Room for an IM only Device ?
tealover writes "MSNBC Has an article about a new device from Motorola that they're marketing that just does IM. It' called IMFree. Kind of a combination of a cordless phone and pager; There is a base station that plugs into a USB port in your computer, so it's only portable in relation to the base station. Sounds and looks like the kids would like this."
The IMfree, which looks like a bit like an overgrown beeper, comes with a battery, a charger and a little USB base station.
IM from anywhere
in your house
Motorola's IMfree aims
at young teen audience
REVIEW
By Gary Krakow
MSNBC
May 20 -- "Just what the world needs," I thought at first, "another portable device that does one task and one task only." But Motorola's new wireless instant messaging device was never intended for the likes of me and it may just be perfect for its target audience.
INTRODUCING THE IMfree, a cordless phone-like device for the generation that uses instant messaging more than the phone. With IMfree, children can IM to their hearts' delight anywhere in their homes -- or at least until the batteries need recharging.
Motorola is marketing IMfree to young teens, and to young teenage girls in particular, because they found this group was a heavy user of instant messaging services. (Girls take to it immediately. Boys begin taking to it when they want to begin chatting with girls.)
Like a cordless phone, IMfree works through a hub that must stay in one place -- in other words, no taking this device to school. But that may not matter much to a young girl who'd rather IM her friends from her bedroom, even if the computer is in the living room or den. And her parents may appreciate being able to use the computer again.
HOW IT WORKS
At first glance, the device looks like an overgrown pager (not surprising since Motorola makes pagers). It is 4.5 by 4.8 by 1.3 inches, weighs in at a hefty 9 ounces and has a 9-line, black and white display.
To use IMfree, you must attach its base unit via a USB port to your home computer, preferably one with a broadband (DSL or cable modem) connection to the Web. The PC (no support for Macs yet) must then be on and running special software which allows up to seven IMfree devices to communicate on the Internet and permits users access to their IM buddy lists. The software runs in the background, however, allowing you to do other tasks while IMfrees are in use.
The software also comes with built-in parental controls allowing adults to limit who can send messages to the handheld and block certain chat invitations. Parents can also disable individual handsets manually, or use the software to set limits, automatically disabling the handheld during certain times of the day.
The device itself communicates with its base station on public 900 MHz frequencies, just like a cordless phone. Under the best conditions the maximum range is also like that of a cordless phone: 150 feet.
Assuming you can type quickly, you can conduct up to six IM conversations at the same time on the IMfree. At the moment, the device only works with AOL Instant Messenger, which you can sign-up for for free without subscribing to AOL. Other instant messaging services may be an option in the future.
THE REAL CRITICS
I played with IMfree for a few minutes and thought it was a good idea - but I'm not anywhere near the target audience. So, I had Motorola send one to my niece and nephew in Florida to get a true view of how IMfree's intended users will like it.
Courtney, age 13, thinks they've targeted her needs perfectly:
"I was so excited when the package arrived and could not wait to get started with it. The set up required a little assistance from my brother and mom, but once I got it working, I thought it was the greatest thing since the cell phone.
"The best thing about it is the connection. We have it hooked up to our DSL, so I am able to access it anytime. I also really like how easy it is to work. It works faster than my computer (via modem) and doesn't take up a phone line. (My brother has the DSL connection on his computer).
"I also really enjoy the ability to walk around my house or sit by the pool and still be able to "talk" online. It is very efficient."
Older brother Bradley, a
There's not a service fee - it's connecting wirelessly back to your PC using a base station, rather than a cellphone billed per-byte.
At 40cents/message, that's big bucks for a service that costs next to nothing.
In Europe, where SMS is huge, It doesn't cost 40cents/message. It is only in the US where they can get away with charging that much. When I lived in Germany it cost around 1 cent a message and I sent 5-10 messages a day. Now that I live in the US and it costs quite a bit more, I send around 5-10 messages a month.
I have AIM on my Nokia 3390 (I think it's a 3390) through T-mobile. I think you get 50 incoming messages free with most of the plans, an upgrade to 500 is $3/month, which I have. Considering that's about 16 messages/day average, I'm unlikely to go over it. I actually rarely use it cause when I'm home I'm usually at the computer with trillian running anyway.
Typing on it's a little annoying at first, but I can manage it ok now. It's nice to have when I need to get ahold of someone and I know they're probably on AIM, or when I'm just sitting somewhere bored.
The only problem I have with it is I can't seem to get it to pull my entire buddy list down off AIM, even when I tell it to. So I often have to manually add people to keep it in sync with the list on my computer. Once they're added it's fine though, so it's a minor annoyance.
Introducing the new Occam Fusion! Now with sqrt(-1) fewer blades!
SMS is strictly speaking a 'store and forward' protocol, but then this is how (e.g.) ICQ works as well. SMS is close to instant: around 1-2 seconds in most cases and only rarely slower than that.
Sig for sale or rent. One previous user. Inquire within.
Cybiko does this. Am I supposed
to dance around and clap at motorola's innovative entry into the teen PDA
market?
P.S. I'm just P.O'd slash doesn't do more coverage on this device, I
have 3, they're a hell of a lot better than luggin a laptop through the house
for IRC or IM'ing. Really cool toy.
is something that provided a very cheap screen/kb/mouse combination which wirelessly connected to a new session on a linux box.
So something from the early 90's would work then?
NCD explora 451 + Oronco Prisim2 wireless card + a cheap AP + your linux server.
I have 6 of them running this way and at $15.00 each for the NCD terminals, $35.00 each for the wireless cards, monitors,keyboards, mice were free.. I got off really cheap.
There are 2 problems with this. Web and text stuff only, and mercilessly kill anyone that set's gnome to use a screensaver or tries to listen to a mp3 on their NCD terminal.... Just as an example to the others...
the hard part of this setup is the whiners that can't live without a 1600X1200 at 32 bit color resolutions. (800X600 is best for a 10 baseT network, which 802.11b is equilivant to) they also need to be publically killed as an example to the others. (A good sysadmin keeps his users cowering in fear)
although, I have recently started ditching the wireless cards at that location and ran Cat5e.. gives them 100 base, a switch, and is overall cheaper... even with an electrician pulling the wire at $120.00 an hour.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
This is pretty cool, but AOL had already introduced a device years ago called the AOL Mobile Communicator.
The device costs $99.95 and the service is $29.95 a month, which is in addition to the monthly AOL membership fee. The service is only available to AOL members.
This one also did AOL E-mail so I guess its fair to say it wasn't an "IM Only" device- but its major selling point IMO was that it did AIM before you could get AIM on cellphones. I think you can still buy it from them!
...unfortunately no one can be told what The Mat^H^H^HGoatse is...they must experience it for themselves...