Pidgin is an open source, cross-platform instant messaging client that lets you chat with contacts on AIM, Windows Live, Google Talk, Yahoo, Jabber, and a number of other instant messaging services. There are Pidgin apps available for Windows, Mac, and Linux… and soon there could be an Android version as well.

An independent developer has ported most of the key components to Google Android. The software currently lacks a user interface and the developer plans to add support for file transfers, reduce the memory footprint, and make some other changes.

In the meantime you might want to consider some of the other chat applications for Android which allow you to communicate with your contacts on multiple instant messaging services:

  • Meebo: The Andriod app isn’t quite as pretty as the company’s web-based messenger, but it’s free and supports a number of different chat protocols.
  • eBuddy: This is one of the oldest multi-platform chat apps for Android, but it’s still one of the best, with support for Facebook, AIM, MSN, Google, and other platforms.
  • Trillian: This app has a long history in the desktop instant messaging space, and now it’s available for Android as well.
  • Nimbuzz: Unlike many of the apps on this list, Nimbuzz doesn’t just support text chat. You can also use it to make voice calls.
  • IM+: This is one of the few apps that supports Skype chat as well as the usual suspects.

via Reddit

Brad Linder

Brad Linder is editor of Liliputing and Mobiputing. He's been tinkering with mobile tech for decades and writing about it since...

6 replies on “Pidgin IM client headed to Google Android?”

  1. Marvellous news. I do hope that Pidgin is ported to Android, along with the Off The Record [OTR] encryption plugin and library. Best of luck to the programmer who is spending his or her time on this project.

  3. You could try aLync, a new IM client for Android. It can connect to Microsoft OCS/Lync, MSN, Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk. You can do file transfer, text editing(bold, italic, copy, paste, search), create a conference and many more in a unique tabbed interface. You can make calls and send SMS messages to your buddies, simply by making gestures on your touch screen.
    http://www.alync.net

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