Toccer is an AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) client for the PalmOne Treo 600 and 650.

Why Another AIM Client?

Our goals for writing an AIM client were twofold:

  1. Make the best possible client for the the most common use cases.
  2. Make the client as seamless as possible. It should feel integrated and feel like an application that has always been a part of the Treo. Part of this means support for the 5 Way Nav and a UI that is consistent with the OS.

Features We Really Like

  • Connect Directly to AOL - Who cares if we go out of business (knock on wood)? No need to worry about our servers failing. No need to trust another party to handle your messages.
  • Receive Messages in the Background without SMS - Don’t call us, we’ll call you. No need to “refresh” to see if you have a new message, we’ll let you know. And you don’t need to be concerned about being “nickeled and dimed” over SMS charges.
  • 5 Way Nav Support - Because the only time we use the stylus is to reset our Treos.

Paid Features

  • Hyperlinked Chat Log - No need to copy and paste anymore.
  • PalmOS Integrated Find Support - Can’t remember which app had that tidbit of information you were looking for? That’s the purpose of the global find.
  • Exportable Logs - Save your chat logs to the Memo app. Or if you have a memory card, you can save it there too. For those data pack rats.

Other Features

  • Imports Buddy List from AOL’s Servers - No need to reenter all your buddies again. Imports the groups too.
  • Configurable Alerts - Use any of the tones you have installed. Vibrate too.
  • Configurable Away Messages - Let your buddies know why you’re unavailable.
  • Supports Multiple Buddy Lists - Do you have multiple AIM accounts? Now you keep your work “buddies” separate from your other buddies. Though you can only be online with one account at a time.

Connecting Directly to AOL versus Relying on a Third Party Server

Benefits of Connecting Directly to AOL

  • Fewer points of failure.
  • No recurring subscription charges to use third party server.
  • Fewer parties to trust for the cautious/paranoid.

Benefits of a Third Party Server (or Why Toccer May Not Be Right For You)

  • Due to technical limitations of the Treo 600’s OS, the best way to connect multiple IM services (and to direct connect to multiple users) is through a third party server
  • A third party server can maintain your “online” status even if you lose connectivity.

Requirements

  • a PalmOne Treo 600 or 650
  • data access (carrier service charges may apply)
  • an AIM account (sorry, .mac accounts are not supported at this time)
  • needs to run from internal memory (not a memory card)