iOS chat client IM+ Pro gets location-aware Neighbors feature

9to5 Staff | May 11 2011 - 3:46 am PT

IM+ Pro, one of the best multi-client chat programs for iOS devices, has been updated with a location-based feature that makes it easy to find random chat participants nearby your current location. Developer Shape Services says Neighbors provides users “the opportunity to find new real life connections and friends with common interests”. This is interesting as we haven’t seen a beneficial integration of location, which is the latest fad, with chat services.

The Neighbors feature works pretty straightforward. You locate people on the map to engage in chat sessions with nearby friends. Others discover you based on your location information that can be as accurate as house, street or city – your choice.

The Neighbors feature could be also used to find new connections and points of interest, post local announcements – even buy or sell local goods and services. The all-in-one IM+ Pro app supports virtually every major chat platform you could think of, including Skype, GTalk, Yahoo, MSN/Live Messenger, AIM/iChat, ICQ, MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, Jabber and more. The program is provided as a universal binary optimized for both iPhone/iPod touch and iPad and costs ten bucks.