Kool IM Launches to Battle Meebo
by Michael Arrington on July 10, 2006

Michigan based Kool IM, an Ajax web chat service that compares to Meebo and eBuddy, launched today.

These services are very popular, particularly with employees and students who are unable to download and use normal IM clients on their computers.

Kool IM takes features from both Meebo and eBuddy. Like eBuddy, Kool IM does chat through a browser pop up window (Meebe embeds it on the page, although it can be dragged). I prefer the Meebo approach, but it’s a matter of personal preference. Kool IM also allows (but does not require) users to create accounts, so future logins to multiple IM services do not require separate logins to each service. Meebo has this feature, eBuddy does not (but says they will soon).

In addition to Silicon Valley based Meebo and Amsterdam based eBuddy, ILoveIM, Germany based Mabber and other competitors are out there vying for the same user base. Luckily, users tend to rack up a lot of time (if not page views) with the service, allowing the companies to generate reasonable revenue from advertising - eBuddy claims to be profitable.

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I think that Kool IM is better and works great.

 

Hi, Dan:

>>Jeff sounds like he is from imhaha,

I am not from IMHaha,

>>its scary because its a site outside the USA

The site is right in Silicon Valley, go check their introduction and check their domain registration information.

 

ok and ok, seems foriegn, nothing wrong with a site outrside the usa, just that laws inthe usa protect us better if anything was to happen.

 

i still agree that meebo and koolim are the best when it comes to web IM, others such as radius and wablet try to do way to much for a simple task.

 

i would have to agree, its hard to really trust outsiders with my hotmail address or my gmail address, they could log-in and see very detailed information which is sent to my email from my financial institutions and others.

 

Nice work, i find this popup style very convient.

 

I agree, i like popup mode better, i only talk to 3-4 people anyway, so having 4 windows open is not a big problem for me.

 

i agree, i have been using koolim after meebo got blocked here, works pretty good for what i need which is basically a very basic web IM app which is quick and simple.

 

i Agree with jack.

 
 
 

i think techcrunch needs to be careful with the porn links and problems which can link up here on the site.

 

i tried koolim, neat little web app.

 

Im a big koolim.com fan also.

 

I prefer to use Kool IM instead of Meebo.

 

Dear HELEN ( or whatever your REAL name is …probably start with S…. or J… :) ),

The alternatives posted before have nothing to do with porn..EVER.
( anyway thanks for the free publicity…traffic went wild lately…probably because your post ).

The only mistake about that alternatives list is that one of the links is http://www.outlookexpress.info NOT outlookmessenger.info

Thanks,
D.

 

I am an eBuddy fan: they have a tab mode so it doesn’t take that much space when I am working. I like it that they have an interface and emoticons similar to MSN/YAHOO/AIM.

 

I agree with bob, ebuddy is the most polished web based IM service

 

I agree with bob, ebuddy is the most polished web based IM service

 

Haha, yea the Kool IM logo is stupid besides their service times out on me.
I think I’ll stick to eBuddy.

 

I love the app, i just wish it was faster and more stable, hopefully it will get there one day.

 

we have just added a second server, so anyone who had problem with slow results, please visit and it should be much faster now.

also working on a major new release,

thank you for your support.

-Samer

 

thx samer, woks faster now.

 

does work much faster, finally! ruuuur.

 

hey all - noticed a bunch of you are having issues with meebo being blocked. a number of folks were using proxies to access meebo (potentially dangerous), so we created the meebo repeater. it should let you get to meebo from anywhere :) here’s the address to get it: http://blog.meebo.com/?page_id=140

 

thx seth, works for me, but at school, we are not allowed to really download apps.

 

koolim is still better because of the more traditional IM interface, meebo is still nice of course.

 

nice app, i like both meebo and koolim.

 

also meebo is already blocked here, seems like most of my friends knew about it without telling me :(

 

Hi ppls

my name is lynne

and i have been upset for a while because meebo has been blocked for ages
so if anyone knows any meebosites plz email me on 289652cggs.act.edu.au
ta luv lynne

 

lynne, check out koolim.com

 

hey emily, talk to me on koolim.

 

do koolim people support QQ?

 

QQ is not supported yet, it is however it testing so look for it in the next release :)

 
 

I am happy for this, meebo is blocked and now i see kool im

 

also beautiful website techcrunch.

 

http://www.communicationtube.net/ - web-client for the popular IM (internet messaging) networks which currently supports ICQ, MSN Messenger and Google Talk.

 

Roma, nice app. dont think it is even close to the others written about on this site like meebo, koolim, ebuddy, etc.

 

its a neat app, works good as meebo is blocked here :)

 

also meebo is a bit better, but i have no choice.

 

very nice, koolim rocks.

 

I don’t like koolim.com ….. it’s just not good… really.

 

its not bad, they need to fix the bugs and frequest disconnects, i like meebo better for now because they do not require a popup as i use firefox and meebo just sits in its own tab.

we will see what they do next, if they fix the bugs, make it more stable and make some in browser version, i think they will be fine because most companies are blocking meebo and others.

 

I agree with Dave.

 

i use to use koolim.com but now back to ebuddy until they fix thier bugs.

 

we have just launched a new version, please have a look at it.

 
 

check out koolim, it rocks.

 

meebo is also kool

 

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