maemo.org - Talk - IM for n900

maemo.org - Talk (https://talk.maemo.org/index.php)

- Nokia N900 (https://talk.maemo.org/forumdisplay.php?f=44)

- - IM for n900 (https://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=52929)

I (hopefully) just need to be pointed in the right direction.
I know nothing about IM client options, but I'm hoping to use an IM app to send messages to contacts' phone numbers in order to avoid being charged for text messages.
Everything I've found in my research so far seems to provide plenty of info for people already using any of the IM clients available, but I'm starting from scratch.
I assume that it's possible to send/receive messages via IM instead of my phone's SMS, but which apps are best for this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by olrac (Post 663371)

The N900 has this function built in.. It even has a "New IM" button in the coversations app next to "New SMS" on your phone.

I have mine set up so that it connects to Facebook chat using Jabber. Saves me loads in SMS each month as all I pay is $8 for data.

Edit: To setup Facebook chat, first go to http://www.facebook.com/sitetour/chat.php and setup a user name. Click on Pidgin and follow the prompts then -

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmurfin87 (Post 520155)

As of about an hour and a half ago, Facebook Chat has launched support for Jabber/XMPP.

Reference Facebook Blog post : http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=297991732130

To get Facebook Chat running on your n900 without ANY extra programs, using only the built in features of a stock n900, follow these instructions:

1. Go to the Settings Menu
2. Go to VoIP and IM accounts
3. Press New
4. Select Jabber
5. Press Register New Account (necessary even if u already have a facebook profile, note that if you don't have a facebook profile i don't know if you can do this)
6. In the 'User Name' field, type in '<facebook-username>@chat.facebook.com' substituting your facebook vanity profile name for <facebook-username> and obviously omitting the single quotes.
7. In the 'Password' field enter your current facebook password, then enter it again in the Verify field
8. Press Advanced Settings
9. In the 'Connect to server' field, type 'chat.facebook.com'
10. Ensure that Port is set to '5222'
11. STUN settings are unneeded, leave default
12. After finishing registration, login with username: <facebook-username>@chat.facebook.com' and your facebook password.

Please note that this will pollute your Address Book with all your facebook contacts so be prepared to clean up

If you've installed MSN-pecan you can add a new field for each contact for MSN messaging as well.

Code:

sudo apt-get install telepathy-msn-pecan

Maybe I'm missing something when I go through the menus. When I go to Conversations,and choose New IM, no contacts appear, and I see no options for adding any. Do I not need to join one of these networks first? I had assumed that I would need to join Gtalk, AIM or Yahoo, etc. and then somehow import my contacts' phone numbers into the IM client's contact list.
I'm not on Facebook and have no interest in joining, so I don't think the Facebook chat is an option for me.

Just to clarify, there is no option to send an IM message to a phone number.

All of the IM networks available expect the messages to be sent to another IM user on their network.

The only way you can get a message to a phone via IM is if that phone is also on IM. Or convievably there could be a IM->SMS gateway that converted your IM message to SMS for example (perhaps via Google Voice).

So yes, you will need to join an IM network to send IM messages, and you would need those people that you want to send message on to also be on that network. You would then add them as contacts (using their MSN or Gtalk name for example) and then you can send them IMs.

I suspect that you have somewhere gotten the impression that IM is a method for sending messages to phones - it isn't, not in the way that you think.

True it is.

But you can always join your local gateway for sending SMS via IM, but you still need to pay monthly fee.

Beware of those free IM->SMS gateway service you could find on the internet. It needs you to sign contract with fine print that actually permit them to charge you by *receiving* their SMS(and they don't need your credit - they ask your mobile carrier for the fee). I've seen reports of those fraudulent cases in the local news.

an IM network is for sending messages using that particular network. If you have a jabber account, you can send messages to other people logged into their jabber accounts. To send an SMS (to a cell phone number) from an IM network would require a IM to SMS gateway, which exist, but imo are not worth the cost and effort.

A better solution is to get all your friends to get an IM-enabled smartphone (ie running android or maemo). Or get them to log into meebo, if they are using an iphone.

Hmm... Thanks.
At a previous job (years ago), we used AIM to communicate between offices, but we could add mobile numbers to our contact lists (+15551234567). I could send messages from AIM to others' phones and they could respond to those messages by sending SMS.
So, it sounds as if you're saying that this is no longer possible, and there is no way to create an AIM account, for example, add contacts' mobile numbers to my buddy list, and then use those contacts to send/receive IMs from my phone. Do I understand correctly?

**I've done more searching online and everything seems to suggest that this is possible, but I haven't found anything specific to Maemo or the N900. Trying to search for " IM " is painful, especially when many search tools ignore 2-character strings and the rest just return thousands of records containing " I'm ". And it's not as if anyone types "instant message" anymore.

For every semi-recent online post stating that adding phone numbers to an IM buddy list is possible, I find another claiming that it isn't, or that it was but is no longer, or that it wasn't but now IS possible.

If you are in the US, request a google voice invite, then use dialcentral or TheOneRing from epage to send free SMS over the google voice network.

Quote:

Originally Posted by uvatbc (Post 664393)

If you are in the US, request a google voice invite, then use dialcentral or TheOneRing from epage to send free SMS over the google voice network.

Actually, months ago I did request an invite to Google Voice, but I've yet to receive anything. I guess I can continue examining that avenue.