Best IM Chat Rooms 2010
About the 2010 Best IM Category
The Reader's Choice Awards Best IM category honors the year's top instant messaging clients, as nominated and chosen by our readers. This category celebrates its third year in 2010, and was the original concept behind the unified About.com Reader's Choice Awards.
This year's Best IM category seeks to honor the Best IM Client Overall, Best Third-Party Messenger, Best Mac Messenger, Best Mobile Messenger, Best Feature on Messenger, Best Chatrooms, Best Design and IM Developers of the Year.
The 2010 Best IM category received over 5100 nominations during the open nominations period between Jan. 1-25, 2010. This year, the voting period for the 2010 Reader's Choice Awards was extended from Feb. 1-25, 2010. Winners in each category were announced on March 1, 2010.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
Best IM Client 2010
The crown jewel of The Reader's Choice Awards category for best instant messenger, the Best IM Client 2010 title is measured by comparing overall user satisfaction, efficiency and design for a messenger.
In 2008 and 2009, Yahoo! Messenger won back-to-back honors as the Best IM client, according to About.com readers. This year's nominees for Best IM are all independent, third-party clients, offering multi-protocol IM support with one exception.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
Best Independent IM 2010
For the independent IM client, this title in the The Reader's Choice Awards category for Best IM is an affirmation of a job well done. The award for Best Independent/Third-Party IM Client 2010 measures the start-up IM's overall user satisfaction, efficiency and design for an IM client.
Past winners of the Best Independent/Third-Party IM Client award include Digsby (2008) and eBuddy (2009). This year's nominees for Best Independent/Third-Party IM include one veteran to the Best IM category, two up-and-coming mobile IM clients and two elder multi-protocol favorites.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
Best Mac IM 2010
Few and the far between, Mac IM clients must push the envelope year after year in order to remain competitive in attracting Mac users. The Reader's Choice Awards title for Best Mac IM measures the overall user satisfaction, efficiency and design of Mac IMs.
Past winners of the Best Mac IM award include Adium (2008) and Yahoo! Messenger for Mac (2009). This year's nominations bring those two rivals head-to-head again, alongside two veteran IM clients' Mac versions and a popular VoIP application.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
Best Mobile IM 2010
New this year to The Reader's Choice Awards Best IM category, the title for Best Mobile IM client measures overall user satisfaction, efficiency and design by mobile IM users.
This year's nominees offer an exceptional, bold and dynamic vision for what the next generation IM client should be like: portable, personalized and pretty cool.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
Best IM Feature 2010
The Reader's Choice Awards title for Best IM Feature considers an IM feature's novelty and ability to make or break the IM experience.
Nominations were accepted for the Best IM Feature award whether specific or client neutral; yet, this year's nominees for Best IM Feature are competitive amongst five different popular IM clients and services. Past winners include Digsby Social Networking Integration (2008) and Brosix Whiteboard (2009)
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
Best IM Chat Rooms 2010
Now in its second year, The Reader's Choice Awards title for Best IM Chat Rooms considers the overall availability of chat rooms, environment and heavy engagement of users.
Last year's winner of the title, Yahoo! Chat, was awarded based on overall excitement for their chat room offerings, and the popularity of their chat room experience.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
While we often look at the brains behind our Best IM nominees, The Reader's Choice Awards title for Best IM Design is all about the beauty. This award analyzes the design asthetic behind the best IM clients nominated for this award.
Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 was voted the first Best IM Design award recipient in 2009.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
The Reader's Choice Awards title for Best IM Developers of 2010 affirms the hard work, dedication and drive of talented designers and developers. The IM Developers of the Year award measures user appreciation for the skill these amazing artists devote to their IM and its users.
Previous winners of the IM Developers of the Year award include Digsby/dotSyntax, LLC. and Brosix/D-Bross (2009).
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
The Reader's Choice Awards Best IM category honors the year's top instant messaging clients, as nominated and chosen by our readers. This category celebrates its third year in 2010, and was the original concept behind the unified About.com Reader's Choice Awards.
This year's Best IM category seeks to honor the Best IM Client Overall, Best Third-Party Messenger, Best Mac Messenger, Best Mobile Messenger, Best Feature on Messenger, Best Chatrooms, Best Design and IM Developers of the Year.
The 2010 Best IM category received over 5100 nominations during the open nominations period between Jan. 1-25, 2010. This year, the voting period for the 2010 Reader's Choice Awards was extended from Feb. 1-25, 2010. Winners in each category were announced on March 1, 2010.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
Best IM Client 2010
The crown jewel of The Reader's Choice Awards category for best instant messenger, the Best IM Client 2010 title is measured by comparing overall user satisfaction, efficiency and design for a messenger.
In 2008 and 2009, Yahoo! Messenger won back-to-back honors as the Best IM client, according to About.com readers. This year's nominees for Best IM are all independent, third-party clients, offering multi-protocol IM support with one exception.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
Best Independent IM 2010
For the independent IM client, this title in the The Reader's Choice Awards category for Best IM is an affirmation of a job well done. The award for Best Independent/Third-Party IM Client 2010 measures the start-up IM's overall user satisfaction, efficiency and design for an IM client.
Past winners of the Best Independent/Third-Party IM Client award include Digsby (2008) and eBuddy (2009). This year's nominees for Best Independent/Third-Party IM include one veteran to the Best IM category, two up-and-coming mobile IM clients and two elder multi-protocol favorites.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
Best Mac IM 2010
Few and the far between, Mac IM clients must push the envelope year after year in order to remain competitive in attracting Mac users. The Reader's Choice Awards title for Best Mac IM measures the overall user satisfaction, efficiency and design of Mac IMs.
Past winners of the Best Mac IM award include Adium (2008) and Yahoo! Messenger for Mac (2009). This year's nominations bring those two rivals head-to-head again, alongside two veteran IM clients' Mac versions and a popular VoIP application.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
Best Mobile IM 2010
New this year to The Reader's Choice Awards Best IM category, the title for Best Mobile IM client measures overall user satisfaction, efficiency and design by mobile IM users.
This year's nominees offer an exceptional, bold and dynamic vision for what the next generation IM client should be like: portable, personalized and pretty cool.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
Best IM Feature 2010
The Reader's Choice Awards title for Best IM Feature considers an IM feature's novelty and ability to make or break the IM experience.
Nominations were accepted for the Best IM Feature award whether specific or client neutral; yet, this year's nominees for Best IM Feature are competitive amongst five different popular IM clients and services. Past winners include Digsby Social Networking Integration (2008) and Brosix Whiteboard (2009)
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
Best IM Chat Rooms 2010
Now in its second year, The Reader's Choice Awards title for Best IM Chat Rooms considers the overall availability of chat rooms, environment and heavy engagement of users.
Last year's winner of the title, Yahoo! Chat, was awarded based on overall excitement for their chat room offerings, and the popularity of their chat room experience.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
While we often look at the brains behind our Best IM nominees, The Reader's Choice Awards title for Best IM Design is all about the beauty. This award analyzes the design asthetic behind the best IM clients nominated for this award.
Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 was voted the first Best IM Design award recipient in 2009.
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
The Reader's Choice Awards title for Best IM Developers of 2010 affirms the hard work, dedication and drive of talented designers and developers. The IM Developers of the Year award measures user appreciation for the skill these amazing artists devote to their IM and its users.
Previous winners of the IM Developers of the Year award include Digsby/dotSyntax, LLC. and Brosix/D-Bross (2009).
Check out the 2010 Best IM client winners
Check out the 2011 Best IM Clients
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