saleBlack Friday see store specials

AOL Instant Messenger

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) is a free, advertisement-supported proprietary instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol. It was released by AOL in May of 1997. It is one of the most popular instant message programs in the United States. Stand-alone official AIM client software is available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and Mac OS X, and Linux. The software has a large share of the instant messaging market (with 52% of the total reported as of 2006), placing it ahead of the combined total user base of the two closest rivals.[1]It is maintained by AOL LLC. The official website is AIM.com

Where to Buy

AOL Instant Messenger
MSRP --
Release date --
Brand AOL LLC
love it
want it
have it
tag it
Pros & Cons
Reviews
Details
Buy It
Competitors7
Comments
twitter

Pros & Cons

Pros:
Do you agree?
[i] No pros have been added to the review, yet.
Cons:
Do you agree?
[i] No cons have been added to the review, yet.

Details

There aren't any external resources listed here yet.

Submit a link

This report was started December 13, 2007 at 8:25 pm by asatruer
with the last edit occurring December 5, 2008 at 4:17 am by vsaxena911
This page has been viewed 445 times, with 19 edits by 7 contributors.
See the full report history »

Buy It

Competitors

AOL Instant Messenger is ranked 5th among it's competitors.  See the top picks in Software »
Skype

Skype

MSRP  $0.00    Released  August, 2003
Pros
  • easy to use
  • clear audio quality
  • Available on Mac, Linux and Windows
Cons
  • can be a resource hog
  • High Quality Video requires a fairly powerful computer
  • causes MS Outlook 2003 to freeze occasionally
ProSCORE
6 reviews
72
Vote! (2 votes)
vote AOL Instant Messenger 0% vs. vote Skype 100%
Trillian

Trillian

MSRP  --    Released  --
Pros
  • Allows the use of multiple chat protocols with ONE universal app
  • Shared buddy lists from all contacts in one easily accesible space
  • Contact message history very useful (chat logs)
Cons
  • you are allways asked to go pro and pay
  • No Google talk (yet?)
  • No Skype compatibility
ProSCORE
5 reviews
64
Vote! (2 votes)
vote AOL Instant Messenger 0% vs. vote Trillian 100%
Google Talk

Google Talk

MSRP  $0.00    Released  --
Pros
  • Integrates with Gmail
  • Unlimited file transfers
  • Uses XMPP protocol so it compatible with many Third-Party applications
Cons
  • Currently NO message encryption
  • Official stand alone application does not support Group chat
  • Lackluster interface and design.
ProSCORE
12 reviews
84
Vote! (7 votes)
vote AOL Instant Messenger 14% vs. vote Google Talk 86%
Windows Live Messenger

Windows Live Messenger

MSRP  $0.00    Released  --
Pros
  • customizable through third party tools such as apatch and Messenger Plus!
  • Free
  • lots of features
Cons
  • Not compatible with ICQ.
  • Mac version slow, buggy and outdated.
  • Requires registration with MSN.
ProSCORE
13 reviews
32
Vote! (10 votes)
vote AOL Instant Messenger 20% vs. vote Windows Live Messenger 80%
Yahoo! Messenger

Yahoo! Messenger

MSRP  --    Released  --
Pros
  • Clean design, tends to use less visual space than other IMs
  • Freeware
  • Very popular, almost everyone have account on Yahoo!
Cons
  • Crashes a lot on the Mac platform
  • Ads included, more data
  • Google Talk not supported
ProSCORE
2 reviews
43
Vote! (1 vote)
vote AOL Instant Messenger 100% vs. vote Yahoo! Messenger 0%
ICQ

ICQ

MSRP  --    Released  --
Pros
  • The first widely used Internet instant messaging program
Cons
  • ICQ is often used for distribution of unwanted advertisement and spam.
  • It is not possible to cancel or delete an ICQ account.
  • Pressure on alternative clients.
ProSCORE
1 review
20
Vote! (0 votes)
vote AOL Instant Messenger   vs. vote ICQ  
Windows Messenger

Windows Messenger

MSRP  --    Released  --
Pros
  • has relatively many features
  • aPatch can customize messenger heavily, remove ads
  • Minimal Interface, no clutter, low memory usage
Cons
  • not many features
  • slow file transfers (aren't peer-to-peer)
  • ads
ProSCORE
7 reviews
14
Vote! (2 votes)
vote AOL Instant Messenger 100% vs. vote Windows Messenger 0%

Suggest a new competitor to add to the list of competing products.
If the product hasn't yet been added to ProductWiki, submitting it here will also start the product report.

Comments

Some HTML is allowed. Your comments remain editable after you post..

Reviews

[i] No one has reviewed this product, yet. Be this first by submitting some Pros & Cons.

Twitter

tweet this product!
- join or start the conversation
Search twitter: search

... Loading for latest tweets from search.twitter.com..

tweetie

sponsored by:
Price comparison information by: