Instant messaging has become an important part of most people's computing. A way to chat with friends around the city and around the globe, finding an IM client that escapes the notice of corporate IT watchdogs is gold when you want to plan lunch or waste some company time. Used properly, instant messaging clients can also be a handy way to accomplish work efficiently too. While there are many messenger clients with incompatible buddy lists, you might be surprised to find that the top client isn't one of the IM utilities bridging that gap.
Reader's Choice: Windows Live Messenger came in tops in the instant messaging category with 22% of reader votes, despite only working with the MSN and Yahoo contact lists. Live Messenger is a slightly better version of the Windows Messenger client that ships with many versions of Windows, so maybe this is a natural extension of Microsoft's reach. I stopped using Live Messenger for most things because I generally find it distracting to be interrupted by messaging clients, so I've largely limited my list of contacts to those who use Gmail. I do find Live Messenger to be the best free messaging product for video chat, because it seems to have the least quirks.
2) Pidgin, the open source messaging multi-tool placed second with readers, receiving 18% of all votes. If I were to sign in to all my messaging accounts at once, Pidgin would definitely be my personal tool of choice as it nicely handles things like file transfers on most networks. Pidgin also has some cool tools for uniquely identifying changes to your IM contacts using sounds and other notifications. These Buddy Pounces, as Pidgin calls them, are kind of like the personalized ringtones of the messaging world.
3) Trillian, the longtime standard in cross-messenger clients, received 11% of reader votes to place third in the polling. I used to recommend Trillian as the best all-in-one messaging tool, but now prefer either Pidgin or the browser based meebo.
4) AIM, AOL's classic messaging app hangs in there with a respectable 10% of reader votes. I personally find the AIM interface annoying and would rather use anything else instead, but it's hard to deny AOL's gravity in this space.
5) Yahoo Instant Messenger is by far the best looking messaging client for Windows Vista, although I find the video chat component so unreliable that I recommend Live Messenger as a better alternative. YIM follows close behind AIM with 9% of reader votes.
6) Google Talk, the messenger I use most frequently, received 8% of reader votes. I like Google Talk because it's nice and simple and I can easily connect with people without a standalone client when I have Gmail open in a browser. Google Talk isn't perfect, for instance, I'd love to see Google do more with video and Google Talk, but for simplicity in chatting, it's my personal favorite.
7) Miranda rounds out the meaningful portion of the IM list, coming in with a solid 5% of reader votes. Miranda gets points with me for being lightweight, but it lost ground when GAIM got the overhaul that eventually became Pidgin.
42 other apps received at least one vote in the Instant messaging category.
