I know all of you BlackBerry fans have been waiting forever for the true AOL Mail experience on your mobile phone right? Right? Yeahhhhhh! Seriously though, if you would prefer true AIM and ICQ as opposed to third party versions, now is your chance to get a deeply integrated, feature rich AOL experience on the go. Hit up the BlackBerry website to grab the new IM clients. [BlackBerry via CrunchGear]

It's been in beta for the last few months, but for Windows Mobile users who'd rather not risk their phone to be a lab rat in a suit, AIM for Windows Mobile is now in final release form. If you are on your mobile now, just go to this link and hit "products" to make the download. If you are on a Windows Mobile device and you don't want AIM, then we are truly, truly sorry for wasting your time. Feel free to drop by Brian Lam's place for a personal apology via back rub any time. No, it won't be strange at all. [AOL via MobileBurn]

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Here's how you can use the reverse concept of using AIM on your computer to directly message someone's phone via SMS to save money on text messaging fees for your iPhone—or any phone that has a proper data implementation of AIM. Just load up the AIM app on your phone, then send a text message to the number of the person you want to text. Example: +12125551234. Your buddy can reply to that message and you'll get the response on your chat window, but it's not as useful as it can be until the iPhone gets background messaging in September. Still, spamming Jesus with free text messages is always fun. [Max OS X Hints]

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Google's brand new Gtalk webapp for the iPhone is as crappy as I expected it would be. It has a nice design, and sending messages was easy, but at the end of the day it's still running in Safari—which means if you get a call you are signed out of chat. And unlike other web-based IM apps, Gtalk doesn't work in the background, so interruptions as simple as going to the home screen sign you out too. Also, there are no preference settings, so you are stuck looking at your whole contact list, online and off. Gtalk's AIM support is also curiously absent from this release. In short, this program sucks. If you're looking for a solid IM solution before the App store opens, I strongly recommend Agile Mobile's AM client recently released on Installer, which I've been playing around with.

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After years of neglect, AOL has apparently remembered that Windows Mobile exists and just released a new official AIM client. Though still in beta, it's supposedly compatible with all WinMo 5 and 6 devices. It looks pretty swank, at least as far as WinMo apps go, and more than satisfying for a mobile AIM client. Hopefully this means they're cooking up one for the iPhone too. [AOL via XDA Developers via BGR]

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Ignoring previous "iPhone VoIP" apps like Jah Jah, which are only VoIP after you connect to their analogue to VoIP bridge, this Fring app seems to be the first real VoIP solution for the iPhone/iPod Touch. To get in on this action you need a jailbroken iPhone, Wi-FI access, and you'll be able to call regular phones using either SkypeOut or SIP (your prices will be determined on which SIP provider you use and how much SkypeOut charges for your particular call). Best of all Fring has built-in IM capabilities for Skype, Google, ICQ, MSN, Twitter, AIM, and Yahoo contacts. The download and install are free. [Fring Install Instructions]

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The enthusiastic high-fives of future iPhone instant messaging users yesterday might be quite a bit less enthusiastic today when they find out that Apple is not going to allow user-made SDK applications to run in the background. This means every application, from IM to VoIP to GPS mapping, will have to terminate entirely when the user switches out to take a call or change a song. How does this affect you? It means you won't be a be able to receive IMs unless you're currently inside the IM app, forcing you to disconnect when you take a call. There's an upside and a downside to this decision.

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Finally, after so many months, IMing is coming to the iPhone with AOL iChat native for iPhone. No more forced texting! It'll support invisible mode, you'll be able to make your own buddy icons using your stored photos, and you'll swipe to switch between conversations. [live.gizmodo.com]

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Google Talk is convenient, but it has failed to win the popular vote. Google is hoping things are set to change, thanks to added support for AOL's AIM network. The new functionality will allow users to log in to AIM from within Gmail, eliminating the need for a dedicated app to handle your instant messaging needs.

Google Talk is great in theory, but we prefer having a stand-alone client to unite all our chatting buddies efficiently. Plus, we use Adium for our IM requirements, and given the fact the Adium icon is so cute, we could not bear to think what our docks would look like in his absence. Hey, don't let the green fluffy bird stop you; log in to Gmail and give it a whirl. [Google Blog via tech.co.uk]