TEST Multi-protocol messengers

Test results

Multi-protocol messengers promise problem-free communication on different networks using only one program. The most important testing criterion, therefore, is how well supported the features of the proprietary messengers are.

Scores

Excellent - 90.0 to 100.0 points
Very Good - 80.0 to 89.9 points
Good - 65.0 to 79.9 points
Satisfactory - 50.0 to 64.9 points
Bad - 0.0 to 49.9 points

Performance (40%) Suitability of each multi-protocol messenger with all four original programs. Criteria are contact list download, appearance, smiley support, avatars, data transfer, proxy and firewall support.

Interface (35%) User-friendliness, auto-connect on startup, assistance with setting up accounts and creating new ones.

Features (25%) Logging, port setup, proxy server support, plugins, number of available plugins and skins, encryption, audio and video chat

Compatibility

To evaluate this, the Pc-pro testers first installed the original messengers and logged on to AOL, MSN, ICQ and Yahoo with the username PCPTest001. Each of the programs was used to create a buddy list, i.e. a contact database of other users on each respective network. The testers then registered with the four services a second time using the username PCPTest002, started all four proprietary clients and added PCPTest001 to the contact lists.

The six multi-protocol messengers were then installed on a second computer on the network with a direct DSL connection, and the testers then connected to all four services as PCPTest001, using each messenger in turn.

Compatibility check

Once logged in, your humble PCpro team first checked whether all the contacts that had been added had been picked up by the test candidates. This is where we saw the first of our flaws: Miranda could not download the AOL buddy list and SIM would not connect at all to ICQ or Yahoo. Search on the newsgroups revealed that this is a known issue.

Having negotiated the first hurdle, a chat was started with PCPTest002, i.e. the original messengers on the second PC. This quickly revealed the weaknesses of the test programs. Gaim was able to communicate with all four services. IM2 would not work with ICQ, while messages from both Trillian and Miranda were rejected by Yahoo Messenger with a message that the other person was not using the most recent version.

The messengers were differentiated further based on how they handled chats. Only Trillian correctly displayed smileys and avatars for all four services. Account creation, contact searches, AOL's direct connections, voice chat and multi-user chats were similarly tested.

Additional functions

Any functionality above and beyond basic text chat and file sending was positively evaluated by the PCpro testers. This includes integrated multimedia services, e.g. video chat, and extension of functionality via those plugins that were available at the time of testing. This included not only those items available on the developer's website but also those turned up by a Google search.

As far as security and compatibility are concerned, several things were taken into account, such as possible support for available proxy servers and configurability of ports. The testers looked at whether separate settings could be given for each protocol or whether it was only possible to define a general proxy server/global port range.

Trillian 3.1 Pro

Test winner in all categories: both the free version and the pro version, with its videoconferencing and Jabber support, show that Trillian is the best choice for chatting on AIM, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo. Even communication over a company firewall worked fine without the need for manual configuration.

The best multi-protocol messengers

1. Cerulean Studios Trillian 3.1 Pro	90.2
2. GAIM Gaim 1.2.1	81.2
3. Miranda IM Miranda 0.4	79.5
4. IM2 IM2 1.5	67.5
5. Sim-ICQ SIM 0.9.3	66.9
Developer Product	Max 100 points

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