Clients & Platforms
AOL recently launched its new, and free, AOL OpenRide software. OpenRide is a multifunction program that combines e-mail, instant messaging, search, Web browsing and an entertainment media center into a single software interface.

OpenRide provides a four-pane window interface that lets you access any of the features from one window. The e-mail feature provides access to AOL or any e-mail account. The OpenRide Web Browser lets you have multiple sites open at one time in different tabs. It also provides immediate access to your your AOL instant messages, buddy list and address book. AOL says that the OpenRide interface has been optimized for high-speed cable or DSL (broadband) users.

ShorePoint Systems announced a new service that lets you add instant messaging as an additional revenue channel to your online services. The solution allows community sites and portals to offer consumer-oriented services, social networking, tutoring, support, entertainment portals under their own brands. ShorePoint Systems offers a way for IM users and businesses using IM, who want to charge for their time communicating, an end-to-end approach to scheduling sessions, monitor, and seamlessly collect revenue.

UK-based start-up Presence Networks Ltd launched a unified communications platform that currently offers secure instant messaging, secure file transfers, recorded teleconferencing services, presence states, VoIP calls and more. Presence Networks also plans to include an enterprise-class SIP client (softphone) to be integrated into the Networker client within six to eight months. Presence Networker is offered as either a do-it-yourself product or as a managed service for clients on individual desktops, laptops, and PDAs. A version of the Presence Networker 1.0 client is available for free download, with additional features and plug-ins available with an annual license fee per client.
Splinternet Communications launched a service that lets users of the GoogleTalk instant messaging service communicate with anyone, anywhere via the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). By inviting Splinternet to be their "buddy," GoogleTalk IM users can initiate a voice conversation to any telephone worldwide. Currently, the service is in beta testing, and Splinternet expects a commercial launch later this month. Initial promotions will give new users credit, enabling them to use the service for a short period of time at no charge. After the initial promotion, users will need to pre-pay for the service on a per-minute basis.

Mobile IM
Knewtrino Inc. announced that it has added support for MSN Messenger to its NootMobile Beta. NootMobile provides instant messaging service for smartphones and other mobile devices, providing access to popular IM services through a mobile Web browser. NootMobile now fully supports AOL Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, along with MSN Messenger and also expects to add support for other IM networks during the beta. The NootMobile Beta is free to use.

T-Mobile announced a new T-Mobile Dash smartphone that offers voice calling, personal and business e-mail, and Wi-Fi capabilities. Powered by Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0,  the T-Mobile Dash offers consumers quick access to personal and business e-mail, instant messaging and text messaging. It also has speakerphone and Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free use. The T-Mobile Dash also includes a 1.3-megapixel camera and Windows Media Player 10 Mobile for music and video on-the-go.
T-Mobile also announced a limited edition of the T-Mobile Sidekick for the fashion conscious users. Partnering with fashion legend Diane von Furstenberg, the Diane von Furstenberg Sidekick from T-Mobile is sleek black and features Diane's signature hot-pink lips. Looks aside, the new limited T-Mobile Sidekick still offers the communication tools favoured by the younger crowd: phone capabilities, personal e-mail, Web browsing, and built-in support for three major instant messaging clients — AIM, Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger.

IM Security & Research
According to the  '2006 Residential Online Service Customer Satisfaction Study' released by J.D. Power and Associates, for the second year in a row, Yahoo! Messenger ranks highest among primary instant messaging services with MSN Messenger and Windows Messenger, respectively, following Yahoo! in the rankings. Out of a 1,000-point customer satisfaction scale based on security, performance and reliability, here is how the primary public IM services ranked in this study:

1. Yahoo! Messenger (791)
2. MSN Messenger (782)
3. Windows Messenger (766)
4. Google Talk (746)
5. Trillian (744)
6. and AIM/AOL Instant Messenger (743). 

The study also found that the percentage of Internet users who use IM on a daily basis has remained unchanged from 2005 at 36 percent

Vericept Corp. and Akonix Systems announced a partnership that will see Vericept integrate Akonix's L7 Enterprise product into the Vericept 360-degree Risk Management Platform. The Vericept 360-degree Risk Management Platform is designed to provide enterprises with the highest level of visibility and control over data loss by detecting and preventing confidential and proprietary file transfers over email, P2P networks and FTP. By integrating the L7 Enterprise product, it allows organizations to have even more outbound content control over email, P2P, FTP and IM.

PC Tools announced an enterprise edition of its Spyware Doctor security package, which includes an Instant Messenger Guard to help protect against virus and spyware infections. Spyware Doctor is available in two versions: for the Home & Small Business and also for Enterprise with 10-10,000 plus computers.

In the past week, a worm designed to carry out a fraudulent form of click fraud has been circulating thorough the Yahoo! instant messaging service. Called w32.KMeth, it attempts to send Yahoo! IM users to Web sites that display Google Adsense advertisements related to a rare form of cancer caused by asbestos poisoning, called mesothelioma. This ad carries one of the highest cost-per-click rates of any Adsense keyword, and criminals are exploiting the Adsense system through the Yahoo! IM network for profit.

McAfee has announced that VirusScan Mobile and McAfee VirusScan Mobile Enterprise Edition are available for the Windows Mobile 5.0 platform. McAfee VirusScan Mobile help protect Windows Mobile 5.0 devices from attacks via SMS, MMS, Bluetooth and other entry points. The software protects against the threats that originate from e-mail, instant messaging, internet downloads and Web surfing, automatically detecting and cleaning infected files before they can attack the device.