Can you send an IM to a phone using AIM?

January 30, 2009 4:24 AM

Is it possible to send (and receive) IMs to cell phones, using AIM?

I have an iTouch. I downloaded AIM into the iTouch. The AIM product description on the app download page seems to suggest that the AIM can be used to send and receive IMs with cell phones - as long as the iTouch is connected to a WiFi signal.

Is this possible? I can't seem to get it to work. Can anyone help?

How do I use AIM on an iTouch to send an IM to a cell phone?

posted by Flood to computers & internet (5 answers total)

Yes. Send an IM to +1 + areacode + sevendigitnumber, like so:
[phone]
posted by dunkadunc at 4:27 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm guessing that the phone has to have AIM installed on it. Then it's just a matter of you both being on AIM and then you can do messages back and forth, though they may have pay for a data play.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:28 AM on January 30, 2009

Using the method I mentioned, the IM gets recieved as an SMS. You can do it from a computer, too.

There is, however, the chance that the official AIM product has to disable this when you're not connected to WiFi, in order to keep you from circumventing the normal SMS service.
posted by dunkadunc at 4:31 AM on January 30, 2009

duh, i see it's an ipod touch, not an iphone. of course you'll need wifi.
posted by dunkadunc at 4:35 AM on January 30, 2009

Ok, I tried this and it works, but the first message or two seemed slowed. I was on the Touch, someone else on the phone. They didn't show up as being alone until we started sending messages back and forth. But after that initial bumpiness everything was fine.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:50 PM on January 30, 2009