Few forms of internet communication have endured the tests of time quite as well as Internet Relay Chat (IRC). While instant messaging services like AOL Instant Messenger and MSN Messenger come and go, replaced in many ways by services like Google Chat or even SMS Text messaging, the old dinosaur IRC continues to live strong, with over half a million users still active over thousands of services.
Whether you use IRC to share files, seek tech support for network administration problems, or just to keep up with old friends, the iPad is the latest platform you can use to stay connected. The only question is which app you use.
LimeChat from Satoshi Nakagawa, $4.99
Considered by many to be the de facto iPad IRC app for the iPad, LimeChat has definitely set the standard against which other apps in this category are measured. Sporting a clean tabbed interface, LimeChat allows you to connect to channels on multiple servers simultaneously. The UI is exceptionally clean at performing this end of its tasks, with arrow buttons to indicate when someone mentions your name, speaks a highlighted keyword, or sends you a personal message.
Unlike some of the freebie apps, LimeChat has full support for landscape mode, and utilizes a built-in browser so you can follow links without getting disconnected from the chat. It would be nice if it had better support for the use of scripts, but that’s a problem very few users are going to run into.
In all, LimeChat offers a fairly decent product at a respectable price. If you’re an IRC owner who can’t get away from it on the road, LimeChat is definitely a solid choice.
Linkinus from Conceited Software, $7.99
There are a few things that really drag Linkinus down, besides just its proximity to LimeChat. It features the basic features you come to expect, including support for multiple networks and basic IRC commands. The only feature it seems to have different from the competition is exploding emoticons, which certainly have their charm, albeit in small doses.
What really hampers it is the user interface, which leaves a lot to be desired. There’s no visual signal on the sidebar to indicate chat activity. Setting up your servers is completely unintuitive, since you have to connect to a server, type in a command, then go back in to add preferences, nicknames, channels, etc. Based on the reviews in the iTunes Store, not many were finding their way around. There’s also little in the way of customization.
What adds insult to injury is that this is the most expensive IRC app on the market. If you’re going to charge a premium, at least make sure you’re the best product on the market.
Colloquy from the Colloquy Project, $1.99
Colloquy draws a lot of the best features from LimeChat and slaps them together in a package that’s less than half the price. The UI is similar to the LimeChat UI in that you can navigate between channels on multiple servers using the left toolbar; only with Colloquy it’s fully customizable. It’s got notifications when your username or key words are mentioned. Not only does it have a built-in browser for links, it also lets you do quick Google, Wikipedia, and Amazon searches without disconnecting.
Probably its killer feature, though, is the ability to use a push bouncer with push notifications. What this does is display messages sent to Colloquy on a Mac and display them on the iPad, even if they came well before you turned the iPad on. It makes chatting from the couch that much easier to do, and it’s the best substitute for multi-tasking on the market right now. (All IRC clients listed disconnect when you exit the app – be forewarned!)
It’s really a toss-up between LimeChat and Colloquy in terms of quality, and since Colloquy comes at a cheaper price point, it’s hard not to call it the winner in the IRC app category.
