Paltalk Messenger - Put a Face to Your Chats with Paltalk

Paltalk Messenger is a live, online chat community only available to Microsoft Windows users. Like other messenging services such as AOL Instant Messenger or Yahoo Instant Messenger, Paltalk Messenger connects people around the world across the Internet. However, what makes this service different from many of the others is that it offers both voice and video functionality.

While other instant messenging services only allow users to communicate with one other person at any given moment in time, Paltalk Messenger users have the ability to chat with up to ten different Paltalk members. SuperIM is Paltalks' trademarked text chatting service. Similar to that of AIM or Yahoo Messenger, users can see who is logged onto the service, double-clicking on the nickname to interact. A list of Pals, called Buddies in other programs, is available for the user on the main screen. [See the on the left] Each user's profile includes a picture to help identify the individual, which is then included at the top of the screen in the filmstrip during chat session so that all of the participants can see with whom they are chatting.

Paltalk Messenger also makes it easy to communicate with an existing list of friends through a different instant messenging service. Through links on the main Paltalk screen, the user can select to chat with their friends through AOL, Yahoo, or ICM. [See image on the right].

One of the features that makes Paltalk stand out from its competitors is the addition of audio.  Users can add audio to their chat session and really make their conversation chatting rather than texting. By clicking on the Add Audio button while in the SuperIM mode, a user can speak to others as though they were on the telephone rather than sitting at their computer.

Another interesting feature of Paltalk is that it includes chat rooms. Paltalk users also have the ability to visit any one of the nearly 4,000 rooms, categorized by topics such as current events, social issues, sports, religion, family and flirting. Users can browse the available rooms by selecting the topic that is of interest to them and then clicking the room to enter. [See image on the left] Once in the room, the user can join the conversation through either chat or by speaking using the Push to Talk button. [See image on the right]

With Paltalk Messenger, users also have the ability to create, own, operate, and administrate their own chat room on the subject of their choice. The user responsible for creating the room has administrative rights, which means they can open, close, and bounce users out of the room for periods of time, ban users indefinetly, and control the microphone. To minimize the work, the user can also delegate administrative rights to another member.

Finally, the Screening Room is an interesting twist on video because it allows users to add video to their chat room or to the Paltalk Video Library. Videos uploaded to Paltalk can be controlled during viewing by the user using a series of controls available on the video.