Free mobile IM ?

[mobaholic]

I have taken a quick look at http://www.nimbuzz.com/, and have to say that it looks interesting.         

It claims to provide:-

1).   Free Calls and Chat, Text and File Sharing;

2).   From your Mobile or PC;

3).   To Anyone, Anywhere !

When you click on 'Learn more' you get the following information:-


"Nimbuzz explained

How much does Nimbuzz cost?

The Nimbuzz software and the Nimbuzz IM and Text Message Service are completely free.
PC calls from Nimbuzz are also free. Mobile calls from Nimbuzz, however, are charged at local fixed line calling rates (or deducted as part of your monthly local minutes package).
This will change soon, when we release our Mobile VOIP solution – and all calls will also be free.

What do I need to start using Nimbuzz?

The first step to using Nimbuzz is to download the free software.  Nimbuzz works for most Internet-enabled mobile phones and runs using Java (and soon Symbian as well).  So in other words, if you can browse the Internet on your mobile, you can use Nimbuzz.  To see if your phone is supported, please visit our download section.

What type of mobile phone is required?
 
To use Nimbuzz, you need an Internet-enabled mobile with Internet access.  To find out if your mobile is supported, please click here.  The good news is that we currently support more than 22 brands and over 500 models and we are constantly adding support for new models.  If you cannot find your phone, please click here to request a notification as soon as your phone is supported.

Nimbuzz Tips'n Tricks

Please note that you may incur wireless carrier charges for any wireless data services.  If you expect to use Nimbuzz a lot, we recommend you subscribe to an unlimited wireless data plan with your wireless carrier.  If you push them, or threaten to switch carriers, they will usually come up with a more attractive offer (such as a "flat rate data plan").  Then you can Nimbuzz all-day, everyday, for free (no incremental cost)".


I have not tried this myself as yet, but I thought it looked a sufficiently interesting site to mention, and if any members here can give any report back on using the service, please do so.       

mh.

[mobaholic]

Having started this topic last week, I thought I would report on how things are going with it so far.

The first problem I had was in downloading the mobile software needed.       
I checked that my Nokia phone was on the supported list, and I attempted to download it repeatedly, without success.       
It refused to do anything if I selected download to phone memory;
and it gave a 'file corrupted' message when I attempted to download to my data card.       

However, after initially giving up, I had a thought.       

I had been attempting to download using my operamini browser: would it work from the mobile's inbuilt one instead ?

YES it did !  This time there was no problem at all.       

I experimented with the chat groups, but nearly all were for Indians, Pakistanis or Indonesians !       
I only managed to find one for English speakers, and could make no sense of it at all.       
Nothing happened for minutes, and then 4 or 5 new posts appeared too quickly to read before the next one arrived.
As far as I could tell, all the 'discussions' were rubbish !       

I next tried to make a call over the internet - but straight way encountered another problem.       
Apparently you have to set up a SIP number to use this feature.       
As I have never explored SIP myself, that is something for me to research next.       

Anyone with knowledge and experience of SIPs please kindly post his below.

Many thanks.       

mh.