Originally Posted by buchanmilne

My requirements for IM protocols are:
-Must be available on PC platforms (including desktop Linux), for communicating with people who don't have smartphones but have PCs, or for when I want to type on a full-size keyboard
-Must be supported on other smartphones
-Should be open to interoperation with other providers
-Preferably based on an open standard protocol

The ones available out-the-box on Nokia N900 are:
-GoogleTalk (XMPP)
-Facebook chat (XMPP)
-Generic Jabber (XMPP)
-Ovi (apparently XMPP)
-XMPP over bonjour
-SIP
-Skype

These all qualify on most of the requirements, and I have all of these (except SIP at present) active on my N900.

Now, I have been using these systems for communicating with friends/contacts for *years*. Just because I have a smartphone, doesn't mean I need new IM accounts. I use the ones I have used for years.

I have used Jabber on Nokia phones since MobileMessenger for Nokia 6600 (Series60 v1) over GPRS (no 3G back then).

Note: If you install more packages from extras, you will get the following protocols in the Nokia messaging app:
-AIM
-GaduGadu
-Groupwise
-ICQ
-MSN
-QQ
-Sametime
-Yahoo

(I don't use any of these, so I am not sure if they worked, still work etc.)

Just recommend XMPP-capable apps to your friends, they will be freed of platform-specific IM, and be free to IM anyone on any platform without relying on a specific provider.

N900 is IMHO one of the *best* phones, because of the out-the-box integration of instant messaging by standards-based protocols.

Another locked-in IM application is a waste for every platform IMHO.

Whatsapp apparently seems to use XMPP, but, if it doesn't provide easy means of adding users on other XMPP servers, it misses the majority of the point of XMPP. The fact that they don't mention XMPP, Jabber, Facebook chat, GoogleTalk etc. on their FAQ means their focus is (IMHO) wrong.

If it *does* support adding users on other XMPP servers (IOW, has s2s open), then, you don't need the Whatsapp app, sign up for an account, and add it to your N900 as a Jabber account, but you need the correct details).

However, if it *did* support XMPP s2s, then (guessing) _xmpp-server._tcp.whatsapp.com SRV record should be published, but it is not:

Code:

$ dig +short _xmpp-server._tcp.whatsapp.com SRV
$

vs Google:

Code:

$ dig +short _xmpp-server._tcp.google.com SRV
20 0 5269 xmpp-server2.l.google.com.
20 0 5269 xmpp-server3.l.google.com.
20 0 5269 xmpp-server4.l.google.com.
5 0 5269 xmpp-server.l.google.com.
20 0 5269 xmpp-server1.l.google.com.

So, no thanks, I don't need inferior, closed instant messaging. That's so 20th century.