Ping! Exclamation Point!
Anyone that has worked for, with, or anywhere near "the man" should dislike the word ping. It's too easy to immediately associate the word with a bothersome, middle aged project manager saying, "Let me look into that and I'll ping you." Why can't you just say email? Why?
We begrudgingly admit that in the case of this new iPhone app, the name is rather fitting. The application allows free registered users to message each other via push notifications over the data connection, rather than SMS. This is rad for a number of reasons. Most obviously, users of Ping can potentially avoid paying AT&T's reprehensibly priced SMS plans. It also allows the opportunity to communicate with people who have no SMS plan at all, such as complete freaks or friends overseas.
One thing Blackberry has always had over iPhones, and that converts deeply miss, is Blackberry Messenger. It's real time, it's free, it's easy; it's texting on steroids. Ping isn't quite there yet, but it's a step in the right direction. The interface is simple, with a list of ongoing conversations and the ability to link them with your existing contacts to see their real name and photo. Multiple users have reported that messages periodically show up twice. It's probably still buggy since it launched recently, but we're guessing this will be remedied soon given the app has been launched into the immediate limelight by reaching the holy top 25. Push notifications appear to be much louder than SMS notifications, so either turn your volume down or get ready to change your shorts.
Did we mention that it's completely free? Stay connected with your iPhone Seattleites!
All that is good and well, but we know what you're really worried about - what do you now call sexting? Is it now spinging?
