Existing users, 
The best iPhone IM client yet debuts
Posted 3 August 2007 @ 2pm in Applications, News
So far we’ve covered a number of Web-based IM clients built for the iPhone. There’s the lightweight Heysan, TinyBuddy (which uses the iUi guidelines to mimic the iPhone’s sliding style interface and adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to login via AOL’s own Web-based authentication), and JiveTalk, which mimics the Mac OS X iChat interface to some extent.
These Web apps have done the job so far, but they all have some flaws: TinyBuddy and JiveTalk are both somewhat sluggish given the iPhone’s relatively poor JavaScript performance. Heysan uses simple HTML to render its interface and is, hence, faster, but also requires constant automatic or manual refreshes to view new messages. Its interface and functionality are spartan interface even by Web app standards.
Enter Mundu IM iPhone Edition from Geodesic (an Indian company that’s already created some great Web apps including Mundu Radio and IM clients for other mobile platforms). We’ve tested the new client briefly, and found that it combines most of what’s good in the extant IM offerings while leaving out the bad. Here’s some of what we like about it:
- Tabbed chats: When you’re in on conversation, other conversations appears as scrollable tabs at the top of the screen. The best implementation of multi-user chatting we’ve seen yet.
- Smooth, fast operation: This is the best behaving IM client for the iPhone we’ve tested. The interface is responsive, responses are quick to load, and tapping a contact name almost immediately brings up a new chat. We also found the client to be usable over AT&T’s EDGE network, where some other competitors certainly aren’t.
- Polished interface: Chats appear in conversation bubbles, akin to iChat. Away and status messages are neatly displayed, unlike some other clients that do a poor job rendering the text. There is also clear indication in a small icon next to each buddy regarding away status. Further, Mundu organizes buddies into AIM bots, normal buddies, mobile devices, etc.
- Multi-protocol support: Though its not unique in this regard, Mundu can hold chats on the big four IM services: MSN, Yahoo, AIM and Gtalk.
The current release is free, and you can give it a spin at http://iphone.mundu.com.
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8 Comments
Posted by MacInfoSys
3 August 2007 @ 3pm
It doesn’t seem to offer Password remembering like JiveTalk so all you have to do is go to the site and log in with no need to manually enter your individual log in credentials.
http://www.macinfosys.com
Posted by theaustinpeay
3 August 2007 @ 3pm
Agreed. Just tested it out, and it works superbly well. You guys are the only of all my apple blogs to note Mundu IM. Thank you!
Posted by capnttom_forums
3 August 2007 @ 5pm
Agree with the review; the best IM app by far. Well thought out, intuitive UI, and fast. I’ll use it!
Posted by joelmcintosh
3 August 2007 @ 8pm
I agree with MacInfoSys’s comments. JiveTalk allows you to save your password. No matter how many extra seconds Java might take, the act of having to enter your password every time handicaps Mundu IM when compared to JiveTalk.
Posted by nmenon1
4 August 2007 @ 5am
adding skype chat would be great……
Posted by matt141
5 August 2007 @ 6pm
So far this has been the worst app that I’ve tried. I have attempted to connect for 3 days, but never gotten past “retrieving contacts.” So far, a complete disappointment. Every other IM app has performed better. I’ll try it again over the next few days, but that will be the end for me and Mundu.
Posted by luomat
6 August 2007 @ 10am
Note several important limitations here:
http://www.mundu.com/im/iphone/faq.html
Posted by mike3k_dotmac
6 August 2007 @ 1pm
I agree with MacInfoSys and joelmcintosh. I find mundu a huge pain because I have to log into each service and enter my password for every session. When you mix alpha, numeric, and punctuation it’s extremely annoying. I’m sticking with Jivetalk for that reason. Even if it’s a bit slower, it’s a lot easier to use.