iMessage on Mac

[-BigMac-]

Hi guys,
is iMessage going to appear on Mac? Would you guys want it to? If so, how would you implement it? A stand alone iMessage app, iChat integration, FaceTime integration?

 

[labaom]

Of course there won't be iMessage for Mac. We have iChat. No speed reason to have it. iChat also tells us when they are typing ect. I just find it stupid iChat wasn't simply integrated into iOS. Instead of call it Facetime + iMessage just work with iChat. However, they would have to work with AOL on it. This is probably why they didn't.

 

[Takuro]

Of course there won't be iMessage for Mac. We have iChat. No speed reason to have it.

iChat has video chatting features, but we still saw Facetime come to the Mac.

The thing is, although feature-wise iMessage also duplicates something iChat currently does, you have to take into account the fact that it interfaces with iDevices in a unique way bridges the gap between iOS and OS X. Also, Apple put in the time for R&D to create the back-end server and messaging protocols that run iMessage, so you have to figure they're going to want to deploy it as much as possible to get a return on their hard work.

Plus, the fact that iMessage is meant to allow non-phone devices like the iPad and iPod Touch communicate with iPhones shows that it's meant to be more of a universal communicator rather than strictly a replacement for MMS/text messaging services. Therefore, why not extend it to the Mac as well?

So I'd argue the complete opposite. You might very well see iMessage as a standalone app soon, or integrated with Facetime (although the name of the app itself implies it's only for video chat, so it's not a good idea), or you might see a convergence of iChat, iMessage, and Facetime (probably the best solution.)

We've seen Apple trying to cross-port as much stuff as possible lately. I mean, iWork for the iPhone almost seems ridiculous on such a small screen. However, they did it anyway. Apple is committed to narrowing the rift between iOS and OS X. Part of the process of shifting toward a "post-PC era" means allowing PCs to communicate with the devices that replace them during the interim and creating parity between feature sets.

I'd bet decent money that you can expect to see something pop up on the Mac App Store in the next few weeks.

[/rant]

 

[-BigMac-]

Of course there won't be iMessage for Mac. We have iChat. No speed reason to have it. iChat also tells us when they are typing ect. I just find it stupid iChat wasn't simply integrated into iOS. Instead of call it Facetime + iMessage just work with iChat. However, they would have to work with AOL on it. This is probably why they didn't.

I have to say iChat is nothing like iMessage.. i have no idea what is coming, but the claims you made are not stating any information which is correct. iChat is nothing like iMessage (maybe you are not a developer so you dont know this). Takuro made some very good points i hope if iMessage makes it across, it is a download available to iOS devs (i dont have a mac dev. account), so we could test it with iOS5

 

[Cougarcat]

I think it's inevitable, just like FaceTime.

 

[capoeira4u]

In my 7 years of owning a Mac, I have never used iChat so I couldn't care less about that app. I would love to see iMessage come to Mac. I use Facetime on my Mac all the time. Even though I also have iPhone 4 and iPad 2, I still prefer it on my Mac because I could still do my work and be productive. Also another good reason to have iMessage on the Mac is during holiday seasons when you want to send multiple SMS to your friends and relatives. It would be a lot easier to edit or customize each message using your Mac, than copy-paste on iOS device.

 

[wankey]

They would never call it iChat because iMessage shortens to iM.

Anyone heard the words IM before?

AOL did a wonderful job of putting it into the public spectrum and it took a stroke of genius from apple to unconciously trademark it.

Expect people to be going "IM me" soon.

 

[baryon]

I think that iMessage would make a lot of sense on the Mac, as you would be able to message people with iDevices from your Mac. You can't do that with iChat.

I think they should just update FaceTime on Mac to support iMessages, without an extra app somehow.

 

[roadbloc]

I think if it comes, it will be integrated into iChat. Although FaceTime wasn't...

Anyway, I'd like to see Game Center for Mac more than iMessage.

 

[SXR]

I think if it comes, it will be integrated into iChat. Although FaceTime wasn't...

Anyway, I'd like to see Game Center for Mac more than iMessage.

I'd like to see Game Center for Mac as well. iMessage would seem to be a lot like iChat.

 

[henry72]

I reckon will be on Mac App Store one day. I know iChat has all the feature that iMessages does, but remember is all about integrate with iOS not "separate". That's Apple!!

I will love to see iMessages come to Mac, plus FaceTime improvement like PhotoBooth effects. Hopefully screen sharing on iOS as well

I think iChat will be gone eventually.

 

[boston04and07]

I'd also like to see iMessage come to the Mac. For years now I've been wanting a way to easily send texts to cell phones from my Mac's keyboard, without having to mess with the whole +1xxxxxxxxxx thing in iChat. Since most of my friends have iPhones now this would be perfect.

Also wouldn't it be great to be able to text people on your computer at work without being so obvious by tapping away on your phone?

 

[ajvizzgamer101]

iMessage is really clean and awesome to us. But iChat would have been better, then we wouldn't need 2 separate apps. iMessage + FaceTime = iChat.

 

[sheeracali]

anyone have the background of iMessage? Like the light blue material. I'd really like to use it in iChat. Thanks

 

[newbiemacguy128]

This seems rather vague...instant messaging availability? For what? iMessage, iChat, Facetime, or maybe instant messaging apps like Yahoo, MSN, etc? Although it does only say "see" your buddy's availability, it would be kinda odd if thats all it did...

 

[FroMann]

Most likely, Apple probably wants to test it out on their other devices before bringing it to the Mac.

 

[roland.g]

One thing iChat does that FaceTime does not - 3 way chat.
Another iChat theatre. Very nice to be able to share photos during a video chat.
Third, screen sharing. Start a Mac to Mac iChat video chat and then ask to share the other person's screen. This is extremely useful in helping older family members fix things/or show them how to do stuff.

 

[Cougarcat]

This seems rather vague...instant messaging availability? For what? iMessage, iChat, Facetime, or maybe instant messaging apps like Yahoo, MSN, etc? Although it does only say "see" your buddy's availability, it would be kinda odd if thats all it did...

It's for iChat. Mail also has this feature.

 

[boston04and07]

One thing iChat does that FaceTime does not - 3 way chat.
Another iChat theatre. Very nice to be able to share photos during a video chat.
Third, screen sharing. Start a Mac to Mac iChat video chat and then ask to share the other person's screen. This is extremely useful in helping older family members fix things/or show them how to do stuff.

Yeah, I wish they would add more of these features to FaceTime. Especially number 3 - I use that all the time with my family members.

 

[GimmeSlack12]

Of course there won't be iMessage for Mac. We have iChat.

But these are not the same thing. Much rather, the inclusion of iMessage in iChat would be pretty darn valuable IMO.

I agree with what most people are saying here, get iChat + iMessage + FaceTime all into one app! Heck, throw PhotoBooth in there too while you're at it!

I love Adium, but if Apple made this iMessageChat app I might think of actually using it!

 

[SXR]

But these are not the same thing. Much rather, the inclusion of iMessage in iChat would be pretty darn valuable IMO.

I agree with what most people are saying here, get iChat + iMessage + FaceTime all into one app! Heck, throw PhotoBooth in there too while you're at it!

I love Adium, but if Apple made this iMessageChat app I might think of actually using it!

I would actually use it aswell. If only because Adium sometimes gives me this horrid lag when I type in the window, its the only app that does this - its weird.

 

[Takuro]

One thing iChat does that FaceTime does not - 3 way chat.
Another iChat theatre. Very nice to be able to share photos during a video chat.
Third, screen sharing. Start a Mac to Mac iChat video chat and then ask to share the other person's screen. This is extremely useful in helping older family members fix things/or show them how to do stuff.

It’s still possible to incorporate iMessage’s messaging protocols into iChat to allow people communicate with iDevices. Extra features such as screen sharing currently take place over separate data connections than iChat’s current messaging data pathway which takes place over AIM servers. So basically, it wouldn’t be much of an issue.

Of course, the messenger clients for each device can vary slightly based on the platform. For instance, iMessage in iPhone technically can send SMS messages while iMessage for iPad and iPhone cannot. Like screen sharing in Mac though, SMS takes place on its own data pathway that is exterior to iMessage message data paths.

So there can be an allowance for differences between clients based on what hardware they are running on. However, it would be cool of Apple to attempt to integrate as many features into one package as possible and to deploy it on as many devices as possible. Imagine using an iPad to simultaneously do FaceTime video chat, iMessage texting, and screen sharing as you collaborate on Keynote slides realtime with somebody on a Mac. That would be pretty damned neat, and tons of people would find it useful.

 

[BLACKFRIDAY]

I am quite positive, there will be iMessage for Mac in 10.7 or 10.7.1.

It will be integrated into iChat for the most part.

 

[German]

iMessage seems to be XMPP (Jabber).

 

[pdgill]

Unification

Yeah, I think the main question here is whether people will be able to "iMessage" someone from a Mac to an iOS device. This would be extremely useful and I think is inevitable. It could obviously be an application download for Windows users as well.

I have wanted this to happen for a long time (iOS <--> Mac texting).

Sooooonnnn...