ICQ 23.2.0 Build 48119

Overview

ICQ is a chat client that packs quite a punch – those who have been using the computer for chatting in the late nineties will definitely remember the introduction of this great program. It offers the standard stuff you’d expect to find in a chat client as well as several new features that will surely please you. Text, voice or video messages can be exchanged with ICQ and AIM users. Let’s have a closer look at this chat client and decide if it is really worth your time.

Installation

With just 12MB in size, the downloading process of ICQ is a breeze. A lightweight and small chat client, ICQ has an installation process that is hassle-free. There’s no denial that ICQ is a versatile tool regarding the supported operating systems. Thus, all the available versions of Windows are supported and work faultlessly with ICQ. Linux and MAC are also supported and if you own an iPhone or an iPod Touch, you can also grab the mobile version of ICQ. It doesn’t come bundled with adware/spyware or other adware. 

Interface

ICQ has a clean and intuitive interface that’s fairly easy to use. The rounded and airbrushed look is working great and is perfectly complemented by the placement of the buttons and the easy to navigate controls. If I need to sum up the interface in one word – that will be “stylish”. The interface is also designed to please novice users and if you are part of this category, rejoice – you will find ICQ a joy to chat with!

Pros

ICQ was designed with the keywords “instant messaging” in mind; in fact it was actually the first successful chat software program to gain recognition worldwide as generally agreed by many users. One unique feature is that you can connect with users from both the ICQ and AIM networks. SMS, file transfer as well as voice and video chat are also supported. If you want to play a game with your friends, this is done with relative ease. Sending greeting cards is another cool little feature of ICQ so you can use ICQ to brighten up a loved one’s day!

The audio chat’s functioning is smooth and through the Quick IM feature, a text chat from within your contact list can be sent. The only one line high text window is perfectly sized in my opinion. Other features provided by ICQ include the fact that messaging histories per user are able to be archived, ICQ spam filtering for non-buddy messages can be applied and the integrated white search page. Like-minded people are very easy to find by using the white search page. There are two versions of ICQ: a lite and a fully featured one. A nice touch is represented by the fact that upgrading to the complete version is very simple and all is done without losing your settings. This tidy and elegant package is rounded by the integrated Google searching.

Cons

Group chats are not supported by ICQ and that’s a real pity. Nowadays when many chat clients actually have a multi-user chat function regardless whether it’s on your PC or your mobile, it is a little surprising that an IM giant like ICQ does not cater to this. Other than this, there’s not much to really fault ICQ on so it’s nearly flawless.

Alternatives

There are many chat tools on the market. Let’s have a look at some of them. The alternatives to ICQ include: Windows Live Messenger, Pidgin, Google Talk, Digsby, Miranda IM, Meebo and many more.

Conclusion

All in all, ICQ is a solid chat tool packed with lots of features. Despite its many competitors, ICQ certainly has upped the game and raised the stakes. In fact, ICQ itself has come a long way and has continued to evolve through the generations to meet the users’ changing technological needs. The future certainly looks bright for ICQ! Honestly, if the group chat feature is provided, there’s no qualms about according full mark rating for ICQ so let’s hope that in the coming future, the developers will consider adding this feature into the ICQ versions which are yet to come. As they often say, the best is yet to be!