After an extensive public beta, Trillian Astra has officially launched. Trillian Astra is a popular multi-network instant messenger and communication tool that has been around for a long time. This new version brings a much-needed update to that Trillian legacy.
Competition is good for the consumer, and now (at least on Windows) you have two choices: Trillian and Digsby.
Cerulean Studios, the developers behind Trillian Astra, are working on a version for the iPhone and iPod Touch, as well as a cross-platform web client and a dedicated client for OS X. I’ve been testing Trillian Astra for the iPhone, and I like it so far. It leverages push notifications allowing you to stay connected even when it’s not running. If they can improve the time to connect it will be my favorite IM on the iPhone.
Trillian Astra comes in two versions, a free version with basic functionality, and a paid, Pro version that adds additional features. The Pro version sells for $25 (or $10 to upgrade for existing Pro owners). I own a Pro license, and found it was well worth it several years ago. I haven’t yet decided whether I’ll spring for the upgrade, as now I tend to use IM for more basic collaboration, which the free version supports quite nicely.
You can download Trillian Astra for Windows or learn more about it here.
I’ve been using the beta of Astra for the last several months and I love it. I was never a fan of multi-client applications until I tried Astra. Now – I’m hooked! It’s nice to see it’s finally moved out of Beta.
I still prefer Digsby, in spite of the false, negative press it’s had about adware and crapware. You can’t fix stupid.
But Trillian is a nice alternative.
Sad, no launch for Linux 🙁
But Pakistani, the web version should work for Linux just fine! Have you given it a try?
I used Trillian a few years back when I was an pretty active IM user and loved the simplicity of it.
Later when Digsby came out, I used that, but I experienced some negative technical issues with Digsby and stopped using it.
It will be interesting to see what Trillian Astra 4.0 can do, it looks like it will be healthy competition for Digsby in my opinion!