I have seen a commercial on TV these days. The host of a beauty contest asked one of the contestants about the key to a better world. And she answered: "I think communication is the answer". Her reply gave me an idea for testing a software. It is an instant messaging application that is mostly used in the USA and it is developed by AOL.

AIM is the number one instant messaging software in America and they try to be as flexible as Yahoo! IM and MSN. As all the other two instant messengers, AIM is also free and you will benefit from the unique features the application comes with.

Being the first time I use this software, I had to register myself in order to get a screen name (for those that are not familiar with AIM, this is the messenger ID). Not too much trouble here, as the screen name was available. Registering done, nothing could stop me from using the software. The installation went smoothly, although it took a little longer than I expected, the duration was shorter than when installing Yahoo! IM.

I was caught off guard when I was asked if I wanted to import buddies from Yahoo! Messenger, MSN, Outlook or Outlook Express as I thought that AIM is similar to Trillian or Gaim. Step number two of the importing made me realize that the lists are imported only to look for AIM buddies. As the software could not find any, I proceeded to step three that asked me if I wanted to activate my Universal Address Card (a new AIM feature that allows me to share my contact info with my friends).

The interface has a metallic look that is to my taste, and handling it is no difficult task. It looks that it is especially created for everybody to be able to work with it. Under the ads window there is a search bar that comes in handy when you have lots of buddies in the list and you want to find a certain person very fast. The buddy list, as in all the other IM clients, can be organized in groups and you can configure the software to show the offline buddies as a separate group.

A very funny buddy is Casino Royale; actually, it is a bot that plays a little game with you and tests your skills as it is recruiting spies for special missions. Smileys are the emoticons I am used to, only here the default range is not too large (only sixteen emoticons available). However, the way they are displayed is quite interesting as depending on the state you want to transmit they keep falling from above and breaking like rain drops when crying, jumping from below with joy, floating when blushing.

At the bottom of the main application window, there are the four modules available: Mobile, Talk Center, Radio and Video. Mobile is a feature that permits the user to instantly receive IMs, alerts and reminders on the mobile phone when you are away from the computer. I was not able to use this feature as my mobile network is probably not agreed by AOL.

The same happened with Talk Center which requires registering in order to receive voice messages to your email. To use the feature (PC to phone calling) you will have to pay a fee of $9.95/month and to receive you personal AIM local phone number that allows your buddies to call you and you will also get caller ID and a log that keeps track of the last two hundred phone calls received. The problem I encountered was that the ZIP code entered was not from US, so...

Radio feature gives you access to twenty six AOL radios which you can listen to online. They cover some of the popular genres as well as some extremely good Hip Hop (fourteen radios that include '90s Hip Hop, All2Pac, Dirty South, Jay-z Live etc.), Alternative, Classical, Country, Jazz-Blues, Latino, Metal, Oldies etc.

AOL Video unfortunately took too long to connect, so I abandoned it after a couple of minutes.

I was glad to find out that I can change my screen name directly from AIM (go in Edit>Screen Name format). Alert Me When option in the same menu permits the user to set the alerting settings for each of the contacts in the buddy list. Alerting options are for when the buddy is available, idle, away or offline and you can set them only for the current session or every time you are online. The alerting modes can be set to use a notification or by using an alert sound.

Pressing F7 key instantly displays the Settings window where you can configure the software according to your wishes. The sections in here are for General IM (display timestamps on IMs, Enter key sends the IM, flash the window when IM is received etc.), Offline IM, Logging, Buddy List (edit Away Messages), Notifications, Privacy and Plugins.

The Good

AIM is a nice piece of software and, if I were an American, I am sure that this is the IM client I would be using. Rich features combined with a nice interface and an extraordinary ease of use give a great software. Communication is excellent and it extends to mobile phones and e-mail, the three most powerful communication tools. Using AIM, I realized that it is actually impossible for someone not to find you, unless you are on a desert island and have no signal on your mobile and no Internet.

The Bad

I wish I could have benefited from all the AIM features and I had at least one buddy to talk to.

The Truth

Alerts on your mobile, PC to phone talk, voice messages stored on your email, file and folder sending, radio, video, what more do you want from an IM client?

I can't wait for AOL to extend all these features to Europe. However, if all the features had worked, the five stars rating would not have been enough.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action: