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diesel

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2007
807
25
you know i didnt want to pay 15.99 for an IM app, and i still dont want to but i went ahead and bought it. i thought about it for a few hours and decided with the way i can use the aim sms on it and that it keeps me logged in for up to 24 hours, that i can try using the aim sms alot and if that just cuts my texts in half i can go from unlimited for $20 a month to 1000 texts for 9.99 and that will save me more than the price of the app in just 2 months.

so ill give it a try and i bought it. so far after using it, the program seems top notch and i love the way it works.


awesome!!! happy to see a former naysayer take the plunge, and having a positive experience with the app :)

btw, how does the aim sms that you speak of work?
 

vandy1997

macrumors regular
Aug 15, 2007
160
0
It's too bad about Trillian! I know that BeeJive was running a web app. I'll hold off for now and see what happens in the IM market. I don't use IM that much myself, so I don't really need an app at this point. I set up my accounts with Palringo, and I haven't even used the app! It will be more useful once push notifications are enabled. Hopefully push notifications will allow messages to appear on the screen (similar to SMS messages) in addition to notifying with a red badge number.

not sure. according to their site they're still "alpha testing" their iphone web app......but that post was dated July 2007:

http://blog.ceruleanstudios.com/?p=162

and i don't know anyone who did messaging through the trillian web app. besides if you look at the screenshots, it looks terrible.

however, there has been no further update from them in their blog so it doesn't look as if they are working on a native app, which is a shame because they could be an instant contender to beejive assuming any native app from them doesn't look as crappy as those screenshots. and competition is GOOD :)

also keep in mind that a lot of what beejive has managed to accomplish in the initial release of their native app was a result of providing their free web app for the past year or so. i was an avid user of the web app and clearly remember how much it has improved over the past year. i'm sure the dev received a ton of feedback to improve the web app over the past year that he was able to implement from the get go into the native app. in a sense the look and feel and functionality of beejive was in beta testing for the past year through his web app and this is the culmination of all that work. kudos to the dev.
 

diesel

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2007
807
25
It's too bad about Trillian! I know that BeeJive was running a web app. I'll hold off for now and see what happens in the IM market. I don't use IM that much myself, so I don't really need an app at this point. I set up my accounts with Palringo, and I haven't even used the app! It will be more useful once push notifications are enabled. Hopefully push notifications will allow messages to appear on the screen (similar to SMS messages) in addition to notifying with a red badge number.


you can configure beejive to email IM notifications to:
your_10digit_phone_number@txt.att.net

IM's will appear on your phone as a sms message nearly instantaneously if a buddy messages you while the app is closed. a perfect workaround until apple gets around to releasing their push feature
 

vandy1997

macrumors regular
Aug 15, 2007
160
0
Is that feature working as advertised? That was supposed to work with MobileChat as well, and it seems like the effort didn't work out too well. Thanks for the tip.

you can configure beejive to email IM notifications to:
your_10digit_phone_number@txt.att.net

IM's will appear on your phone as a sms message nearly instantaneously if a buddy messages you while the app is closed. a perfect workaround until apple gets around to releasing their push feature
 

Rayfire

macrumors 68030
Aug 25, 2008
2,579
148
PNW
Is that feature working as advertised? That was supposed to work with MobileChat as well, and it seems like the effort didn't work out too well. Thanks for the tip.

Yup, works. Basically Beejive sends you an e-mail to 10digitnumber@txt.att.net , then you'll receive an SMS from 1(010)100-001 which has only an all text based email sent to your phone. Take note there will be no email addresses displayed, just the sender's name, subject title, and the message body in strictly text format.

Just to let you know, the above e-mail works for AT&T subscribers, and make sure your SMS plan could cover those incoming SMS messages, if not then better use regular e-mail notifications else you'll have a whopping expensive bill (I exaggerated that lol).
 

Digipimp

macrumors regular
Jun 17, 2003
190
0
Texas
awesome!!! happy to see a former naysayer take the plunge, and having a positive experience with the app :)

btw, how does the aim sms that you speak of work?

it worked good for me because you can access the iphones contacts to sms anyone thats in it using the aim sms. i used it to send to 3 or 4 people and it worked fine.

the push to yahoo email works good since yahoo is so quick to push out notifications on email. ill wait for the push service apple will provide though since i check my phone often enough that it doesnt matter to me if i get it immediately.
 

diesel

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2007
807
25
Yup, works. Basically Beejive sends you an e-mail to 10digitnumber@txt.att.net , then you'll receive an SMS from 1(010)100-001 which has only an all text based email sent to your phone. Take note there will be no email addresses displayed, just the sender's name, subject title, and the message body in strictly text format.


I can confirm it works, and it works well to know when someone has sent you an IM while the app is closed, though this is not how i have my beejive set up. i don't like receiving sms txt messages due to the more "intrusive" nature of sms messages. there's no IM that i need to receive that kind of alert. if my buddies want to reach me that critically, they will sms me directly or call. hence i have configured my beejive with a yahoo mail account and since yahoo mail on the iphone is push, i receive notifications nearly instantaneously. works perfect for me and is not as "intrusive" as a sms text message
 

Rybold

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2008
960
0
California, USA
BeeJive's push notification currently consists of sending an email to the address of your choice. If you don't have push email, the notification will not be immediate. Separate from this, yes, you will be connected 24/7 (configurable) no matter what IM account you use.

So, if I understand you correctly, all the "push" does is send an email to my email address, letting me know I have received a new instant message to my instant messenger ? So then, I can ignore my email and go straight to the instant messenger and reply, but then sometime later on, I'll need to bulk-delete a bunch of emails from my email address. Is that correct?

So then, it doesn't matter which instant messenger I use on this program, as long as the email is via Mobile Me or Exchange?

"Get notified instantly when you get a new message (requires with MobileMe or Exchange/ActiveSync push email). - Works with multiple IM networks, multiple accounts per network: AIM/iChat, MSN, Yahoo!, GoogleTalk, ICQ, Jabber, and MySpace IM."

After thought: For those of us that have not signed up for push, we can still set our phones to check out email every 15min.
 

kevin512

macrumors member
Aug 19, 2008
86
0
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)

So far so good. No crashes. I think I saw a time out error when first logging in but nothing since. Far and away light years ahead of MC's launch.
 

odelay

macrumors 6502
Oct 21, 2007
324
1
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)

this app rules. Exactly what I've been waiting for.

For those in the UK on o2 who want the SMS notifications of new messages, text "on" to 212, you'll then get a reply saying email to SMS service has been activated. Just configure Beejive to send alerts for new messages to +44<your mobile number>@mmail.co.uk, and you'll get an SMS notification instantly (well, almost) of any new messages in Beejive. A decent alternative to those without MobileMe or Exchange until Apple released push notifications for 3rd party apps.
 

Digipimp

macrumors regular
Jun 17, 2003
190
0
Texas
as far as being able to stay logged in for up to 24 hours can someone tell me something about this. is that how long it can sit without me going back into the program? does it refresh when i load the app back up and use it, does that 24 hour or however long period restart after that activity, or is it 24 hours total and it logs me out regardless of my activity?
 

diesel

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2007
807
25
as far as being able to stay logged in for up to 24 hours can someone tell me something about this. is that how long it can sit without me going back into the program? does it refresh when i load the app back up and use it, does that 24 hour or however long period restart after that activity, or is it 24 hours total and it logs me out regardless of my activity?


as i understand it and someone has yet to confirm this, the 24 hour clock will restart anytime you physically go back into the app and/or actively send out an instant message via beejive.
 

Digipimp

macrumors regular
Jun 17, 2003
190
0
Texas
as i understand it and someone has yet to confirm this, the 24 hour clock will restart anytime you physically go back into the app and/or actively send out an instant message via beejive.

thats what i was hoping for and kind of expected but it hasnt really been made clear anywhere. if thats the case i can just set it for a few hours instead of the full 24 since i can go back to the app every couple hours anyway.
 

EvanLugh

macrumors 68000
Aug 29, 2007
1,929
3
Developer land
I got it, and it's really really nice and stable. It goes a little slow some times but i'm sure that'll be improved at some point.
MC3 0 - 1 Beejive
 

archi17

macrumors regular
Jun 3, 2008
185
0
Australia
looks like a really good app, just don't know if it's QUITE enough better than Palringo to justify an $17.35 outlay (since that's what it works out as here in the UK - we get absolutely screwed on iTunes prices, for no good reason that I can figure out)

Try being in Australia! It is $18.00 over here. And individual iTunes songs are $1.69. What is with the great markup of prices? We are humans to here is Aus.
 

bbplayer5

macrumors 68040
Apr 13, 2007
3,133
1,141
For the people on the fence: Its worth the money. 16 dollars for the life of your iphone and next generation iphones. Nothing will really compare to this, especially after push etc comes into play.
 

AndyV

macrumors member
Sep 8, 2008
30
1
It's all useless for me...

... cause everyone I know uses Skype... why do they always leave skype out of it... where is skype for the iPhone?... hä?... truephone is at the appstore... so why isn't there a native skype app... damn:mad:
 

Lictor

macrumors 6502
Sep 13, 2008
383
21
Tempted to buy this just because of the Office Space references in the screenshots...but $16 is a bit much for a mobile application.

Well, that's to be expected... And as soon as the Apple generated insecurity (NDA, procedure to access the AppStore) is lifted, you can expect to see the big applications rolling in, and they won't sell for $4.99 either! Just check how much TomTom sells for on Windows Mobile...

And this is quite natural actually. The frontier between mobiles platforms and the more traditional desktop or console platform is getting thinner and thinner. The cost of developing a serious game for the iPhone is not far from the cost of developing a game on the Nitendo DS - and similar games are possible on both platforms. Why do you expect the iPhone version to sell for $1.99 while the Nitendo version would sell for $30?
Likewise, for business applications, you can have quite a lot of complexity on the iPhone. Especially if Apple decides to let go of some of the restrictions on the SDK. As complexity increases, the only difference will be (maybe) less piracy on the iPhone and a faster distribution model vs a wide user base on the desktop. I'm not sure this will justify a large price difference between the two worlds...
 

TopToffee

macrumors 65816
Jul 9, 2008
1,070
992
Honestly, It's who the Blackberry is marketed to. Kids don't buy Blackberrys. One year ago, Kids couldn't afford an iPhone. NOW, they need to market the apps to the same kids who cry ".99 is TOO MUCH MONEY, THIS SHOULD BE FREE!!!!!"

It's pathetic. Cheap bastards + Subsidized iPhone = dumbed down crappy apps.

I'm neither a lawnmowing kid, nor a cheap bastard. I am also not an idiot however, and I am not going to spend £10 on something until I have a decent bit of evidence that it's a good chunk better than the available FREE alternative. If it becomes evident that it IS a lot better, then I'll drop the tenner no problem.

That said, I do think that the Beejive guys could have actually made more money at a lower price point....

You really do come off quite arrogant you know... like you're "better" than other people just because you're willing drop whatever money on apps without thinking about it. Also, you seem obsessed with kids who mow lawns. Not sure what that's about.... I *do* however wish that when I was a kid, I'd been paid enough for that sort of task to afford an iPhone and the associated contract...

Whose lawns are these kids mowing?!?!
 

mistertomlinson

macrumors 6502
Dec 22, 2007
333
19
I stole this app as soon as someone posted the torrent for it last night. I have absolutely no problem paying for apps that I use regularly, but $16 is too much. It's a great app and worth a higher price than the average app no doubt, but considering the prices of the other amazing apps in the store (Super Monkey Ball, Asphalt 4, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Crash Bandikoot, etc. - ALL $10), it's an unreasonable price. It's a simple IM client! I don't care how poorly the competition is doing, it's an IM client and nothing more! Why should I pay more for this app than I would pay for one of the other great games referenced above?!

BeatMaker is $19.99 and THAT'S an app that deserves the price they are asking. Let's compare the two apps: One is a fully functional software music studio with features I would have NEVER expected to be available on a cell phone, but rather a desktop platform and the other is an... IM client. Hmmmm. I really think it would have been wise to follow the market's trend.

I swear to god, as soon as they drop the price to $10 or put it on sale, I'll be glad to buy it, but until then, I'll just use the cracked .ipa.
 

TopToffee

macrumors 65816
Jul 9, 2008
1,070
992
Why do you expect the iPhone version to sell for $1.99 while the Nitendo version would sell for $30?

Remember, it's not just about value for money pricing... it's about being competitive.

Apps in the App Store are only in a small part competing against similar Apps for Windows Mobile, the DS, Crackberry, whatever... they're MOSTLY competing against other Apps in the Apple App Store... and the way this market is emerging, the average price point for an app in the app store is going to HAVE to be lower than on the BB etc, or it just won't sell in very high numbers, because there are a multitude of relatively polished free (or very cheap) alternatives to nearly every pay-app...

And while the pay apps might be better than the free ones, of the price difference is too big (or difference in quality too small), a large section of the userbase will continue to use/put up with the free alternatives...
 

wildmilne

macrumors regular
Jan 19, 2008
132
0
you people crack me up...it's $15. i guess we're all spoiled now on iphone apps...look how much apps cost for any other platform. I had to pay $9.99 for 3 months of IM'ing with agile messenger on windows mobile (or pay $40 for lifetime). IM+ for windows mobile was $30, i'm sure they'll be charging for iphone too if they can get a working app. It's normal to pay $10 for lunch these days.
 

SILVER13ACK

macrumors newbie
Sep 11, 2008
2
0
Hmm, at first I thought...No way will I pay $15. But then I realized, im paying $30 per month for unlmiited text on the family plan. Maybe this will be worth it.
 

TopToffee

macrumors 65816
Jul 9, 2008
1,070
992
you people crack me up...it's $15.

And that means it should be AUTOMATICALLY paid, without some consideration for whether it's WORTH it, over the free alternatives?

All the arguments about the prices of this that and the other (BB or Windows Mobile apps, or even fecking lunches) are completely irrelevant. Beejive isn't competing with them. It's competing with Palringo, IM+ and (if they EVERRR get the damn thing working - doubtful at this point) MC.

Some people may just whine at the fact that Beejive is £10... I'm not. I *do* however reserve my right to wait until there is some more evidence that it's £10 *better* than Palringo... at which point I will be only too happy to drop the £10 on the app.

What "cracks me up" is the people who evidently have no regard for money whatsoever, and look down their noses at people who thing it might just be smart to figure out whether something represents a wise purchase, before buying it.
 
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