Trillian for iPhone Enters Beta Testing
Cerulean Studios, the company behind the multiprotocol instant messaging app Trillian, has announced the fact that it will port Trillian Astra to the Apple developed iPhone. The software is currently in Beta, and the overall goal is to make the most of the functionality provided by the iPhone OS 3.0 and Trillian Astra. For the time being you cannot get your hands on Trillian for iPhone Beta unless you are a seriously planning to help Cerulean Studios test the app. Otherwise you are better of waiting for Trillian for iPhone Beta to become publicly available, just like Trillian Astra for Windows did earlier this months (details here).
“We are proud to announce the upcoming Trillian for iPhone, a native application for your iPhone and iPod Touch! With the advancements of iPhone OS 3.0 and our latest Astra technology, we are happy to be able to give you the best possible IM experience on your favorite mobile device. We’re accepting a handful of new testers over the coming weeks. If you’d like to sign up for testing, please follow the instructions at this URL to do so. At this stage we are looking for serious testers only; if you’re not interested in participating by submitting bug reports and are only looking to give the client a test drive, please wait for our public release,” explained Cerulean Studios.
According to Ceruleans Studios, here is what you can expect to get from Trillian for iPhone:
- A simple and straightforward UI (user interface) that displays all your IM contacts in an organized manner.
- The chat experience will be similar to the desktop version – bubble view for chat windows and tabs to chat with multiple contacts; set your avatar, status and status message; manage multiple identities and multiple IM connections.
- Trillian for iPhone will be permanently connected with the Astra server, meaning that you will benefit from instant synchronization across multiple platforms. For example, when you change your avatar in Trillian for iPhone, the change will be displayed in Trillian for Windows and your online Astra Profile. The same will happen when you add a new contact in Trillian for iPhone – the contact will be added to Astra for Windows as well.
- Sign in from multiple devices simultaneously. Cerulean Studios explains: “Trillian supports multiple devices utilizing the same IM services with the same usernames. Your Astra, AIM, and all XMPP-powered services will always be online without ever worrying about kicking another connection offline.”
- All your Trillian for iPhone sessions will be stored by Cerulean Studios’ Octopus server technology. This means that you will not lose any part of a conversation if you lose your internet connection or exit the application.
- Push Notification: this is a new feature in the iPhone OS 3.0 (detailed list of new iPhone OS 3.0 features available here) that allows you to be notified when you receive an instant message in Trillian - even if the app is closed at the moment.
- Favorites: because fitting 500+ contacts on the iPhone’s screen is an issue, Cerulean Studios launched a new feature called Favorites that allows you to set up a separate list of contacts you frequently chat with.
- Instant search on the contacts screen
- All open chats are readily available for you to view thanks to a new chats screen and a tabbed chat window.
Having an Astra Account is the only requirement you will need to abide to once Trillian for iPhone 3.0 Beta becomes available.
“We are proud to announce the upcoming Trillian for iPhone, a native application for your iPhone and iPod Touch! With the advancements of iPhone OS 3.0 and our latest Astra technology, we are happy to be able to give you the best possible IM experience on your favorite mobile device. We’re accepting a handful of new testers over the coming weeks. If you’d like to sign up for testing, please follow the instructions at this URL to do so. At this stage we are looking for serious testers only; if you’re not interested in participating by submitting bug reports and are only looking to give the client a test drive, please wait for our public release,” explained Cerulean Studios.
According to Ceruleans Studios, here is what you can expect to get from Trillian for iPhone:
- A simple and straightforward UI (user interface) that displays all your IM contacts in an organized manner.
- The chat experience will be similar to the desktop version – bubble view for chat windows and tabs to chat with multiple contacts; set your avatar, status and status message; manage multiple identities and multiple IM connections.
- Trillian for iPhone will be permanently connected with the Astra server, meaning that you will benefit from instant synchronization across multiple platforms. For example, when you change your avatar in Trillian for iPhone, the change will be displayed in Trillian for Windows and your online Astra Profile. The same will happen when you add a new contact in Trillian for iPhone – the contact will be added to Astra for Windows as well.
- Sign in from multiple devices simultaneously. Cerulean Studios explains: “Trillian supports multiple devices utilizing the same IM services with the same usernames. Your Astra, AIM, and all XMPP-powered services will always be online without ever worrying about kicking another connection offline.”
- All your Trillian for iPhone sessions will be stored by Cerulean Studios’ Octopus server technology. This means that you will not lose any part of a conversation if you lose your internet connection or exit the application.
- Push Notification: this is a new feature in the iPhone OS 3.0 (detailed list of new iPhone OS 3.0 features available here) that allows you to be notified when you receive an instant message in Trillian - even if the app is closed at the moment.
- Favorites: because fitting 500+ contacts on the iPhone’s screen is an issue, Cerulean Studios launched a new feature called Favorites that allows you to set up a separate list of contacts you frequently chat with.
- Instant search on the contacts screen
- All open chats are readily available for you to view thanks to a new chats screen and a tabbed chat window.
Having an Astra Account is the only requirement you will need to abide to once Trillian for iPhone 3.0 Beta becomes available.
