Download Messages Beta and get a taste of what’s coming in OS X Mountain Lion. When you install Messages, it replaces iChat. But iChat services will continue to work. And Messages brings iMessage to the Mac — just like on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch running iOS 5. Here are the features you can expect with Messages:
• Send unlimited iMessages to any Mac, iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.
• Start an iMessage conversation on your Mac and continue it on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.
• Send photos, videos, attachments, contacts, locations, and more.
• Launch a FaceTime video call and bring the conversation face-to-face.
• Messages supports iMessage, AIM, Yahoo!, Google Talk, and Jabber accounts.
More info and download link here.
Does it remove FaceTime when it’s installed, or only iChat?
Only removes iChat.
iChat is gone but FaceTime stays…
what about the theater mode ?
…and sending files ?
i guess it will not be enable all ichat features 🙁
You can send file, just double tap on the person’s name you are having chat with…
It’s not working here, keeps asking for my iCloud password. Beta Blues 😉
Great, I love free massages
Won’t work with iCloud and/or iMessage account… Weird. I’m going back to iChat
Works fine with my iCloud account.
Works great. Except I can’t get it to sink with my iPhone. But other than that great for a beta.
On your iPhone go to Settings>Messages>Receive at
Tap Add an email and add your iCloud account email. Now messages you receive at you phone number will be on the iPhone only, but messages sent to your iCloud account email will go to all of your devices, including your iPhone.
I usually don’t download beta software, but since I don’t use iChat, I might as well give this a try. (I didn’t want to sign up for AIM account and didn’t know anyone who had one. But I use iMessage a lot.)
——RM
Works great for me!
I love it! I will be switching to iMessages exclusively as soon as possible, since it’s not blocked by the filter at my work.
My only complaint is trying to train users to send messages to my email address as opposed to my iPhone’s number. I’ve found the most effective method is to use my preferred email as my Caller ID so all responses come to both my desktop and iPhone. But when someone sends me a new message, they often choose a phone number due to learned behavior of the SMS days of yore.
Let’s hope Apple implements either phone number identification on the desktop, or forwarding from one “Caller ID” to another/convergence of all registered IDs to one place.
The other frustrating issue, that has been a problem since iMessages was first available, is the splintering of conversation threads when users receive iMessages at a number of emails. That’s why I’d prefer to see a convergence of all messages into one place, instead.
I’m sure it’s just a matter of time, though.
I have seen this Messages app crash many times already today. It’s not like a normal Apple item. They don’t usually crash.
It’s beta.
That said, I haven’t had a single crash and I’ve been using it all day. What hardware are you running it on?
Mac Book 15 with Lion. I just reloaded it, so I’ll see how that helps the problem.
“Unlimited messages” – sounds like a vocabulary borrowed from your friendly cell phone service provider.
There’s Growl and auto-resize for it, already:
http://tiagodovale.deviantart.com/art/Growl-AutoResize-for-MESSAGES-Beta-285399682