Meebo Finally Launches on iPhone With Support for Dozens of IM Networks

The long-promised Meebo IM app for the iPhone and iPod touch [iTunes link] is now available in the App Store, and it’s both free and awesome.

Meebo () is a primarily web-based IM client — a place you can go in your browser to access almost every IM network you might want to use: Google Talk/Jabber, Yahoo!, AOL Instant Messenger, MySpace () IM, Facebook () — you name it.

Meebo demonstrated its app in the main presentation of the Apple event last March when iPhone () OS 3.0 was announced, which finally added push notification support to iPhone apps. Meebo’s app looked fantastic, and folks got really excited about it, but after a couple of weeks of hype it faded away from the public eye. Apart from a web-based version of Meebo for iPhone, nothing happened. But now the promised native app is finally here.

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First Impressions

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Meebo is arguably the best IM app for the iPhone because it’s lightweight and easy to use, and because it supports almost every network under the sun. Scroll to the bottom of this post for a complete list of supported networks; we’ll bet you didn’t even know that many of them existed.

Push notifications are unsurprisingly part of the feature set. But other cool things include syncing chat logs (and everything else, really) with the web app and the ability to move between active conversations by swiping from side to side with your fingers.

Mostly, though, we were impressed with the simplicity and speed of the app. Other solutions like BeejiveIM and IM+ seem bulky by comparison and their prices are comparatively bulky, too: $6.99 for the former and $4.99 for the latter for all the features. Meebo is totally free, and though it does lack a couple of the more advanced features that its competitors offer, most users won’t notice their absence.

Here are some pics of the app in action:

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Pics

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Supported Networks

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- AIM ()
- Are You Interested
- aujourdhui.com
- BasilMarket
- Batanga
- CafeMom
- Chess.com
- DailyStrength
- DanceTrippin
- Decayenne
- Dhingana
- EliteCastingNetwork
- eBaum’s World
- Fabulously40 ()
- Facebook
- Fanpop ()
- Flirtbox
- Flixster ()
- FooPets
- Footytube
- Fupa
- GGL
- GamerNook
- Gamevance
- GirlsAskGuys
- Google Talk
- ICQ
- imageChef
- Indianelement
- ibeatyou
- Jabber
- JacketFlap
- JamLegend ()
- Justin.tv
- Klikot
- MSN
- MingleVille
- MixPod
- MuchGames
- MySpace
- MyWorkster
- myYearbook
- Operation Sports
- OrangeShark
- Outspark
- Packed
- PlayedOnline
- Playfire
- Playlist
- Quepasa
- SocialSplash
- Sonico
- SparkPeople
- Sparkteens
- Starpulse
- Tehkseven
- Threadsy
- Ultimate Guitar
- Wadja
- Wixi
- Yahoo!
- Yonja
- Zinch
- Zorpia