The New iTalk Buddy And Me Posing As A Virtual Intelligent Pet.

The iTalk Buddy really knows how to warm the cockles of my heart with its pink interface!

The iTalk Buddy does hint at being the next MSN messenger and it could very well be with all the features that the good people at TM have packed it with. It’s a mish mash of features from popular instant messaging services like MSN Messenger, Skype, to name a few and more features of its own.

It is deemed as a combination of all of iTalk features and the power of the internet.
iTalk, as you know it, functions like an IDD calling card. With iTalk Buddy, you can make PC to phone calls at the lowest rates.
This is good news to people like me! I can use my PC to call Chee Kiang’s singapore number. Only RM0.17 per minute! Compared to the whopping Rm30 per hour I’m paying when I call with my hotlink prepaid card. I don’t know how much he’s paying when he calls me lah, I only know that I emoed that I’m not getting enough phone calls 😛 hence we’re doing this calling each other once a week thing. It’s good enough for me! Maybe with this RM0.17 per minute, I can kacau him more! Hope he won’t be annoyed!

The iTalk buddy also provides blogging, virtual intelligent pet and SMS. Not too sure about the first two but SMS would definitely be useful! Say if I run out of Hotlink credits, this would be the answer to my problems!

With features like buddies and groups, text IM, chatroom, VOIP, Video and soon SMS, blog and mobile blogging(!!!), directory, file sharing, offline services and an intelligent pet world, it has a high chance of becoming the next big thing. Even I am tempted to find out what it is myself!

What sounds particularly enticing is their Offline Services. iTalk Buddy users can create an iTalk Community portal that can be accessed from an online or offline environment. If you fancy a round of network games, don’t worry about the pesky setup of a LAN connection with annoying cables all over the place. You can even set it up with iTalk Buddy! The offline services organize the network without the users’ intervention, reach out to unreachable devices, heals broken links, detect available networks and optimizes the best route.

You can even do things together! You can share sceens while having a meeting or a discussion. This is particularly useful for gossip sessions.. 😀 On a serious note, one can even work with another user on a word document. Good for those group projects that we’re frequently stuck with!

However, one of its most interesting features is definitely its Virtual Intelligent Pet or as it is better known, Moji.

Hahaha.. if you can read the conversation… seriously wtf!

Built with artificial intelligence, these ‘pets’ can hold intellectual conversations with its owners and like any normal pet, they do will take on the traits of their owners. After awhile you might even find yourself feeling attached to the little guy. Like any other virtual world, you can buy items for your Moji.

If you’ve been around the blogosphere, you’d remember the first phase of the iTalk Buddy.

Months ago, Suet and many other bloggers were suddenly sporting the cute pink and white alien panda-bunny on their blogs.

The slightly disturbing pink and white alien panda-bunny.

I thought it’d be fun to see if I can pull off the pink panda look.

With the release of phase 2, there will be a 3D Moji. It can move in a 3D manner and show emotions. If you’re not careful, it might mix with bad hats. Yes, your Moji can interact with other Mojis! Strangely, it has a learning capability and adapts to words that you often use. So if you use words like, Ma*Hau*hi*ai… I fear to even think about the possible consequences!
As smart as your Moji might be, it’s still a living being. It still needs to eat! Must buy food which will cost you RM2.
If your Moji is feeling cold, you can buy clothes for it. Also RM2!

As I have mentioned above, the phase 2 iTalk Buddy even provides calls from your PC to fixed line and mobile numbers! The voice calls are cheap and there is no access fee. And just like Skype, calls from PC to PC is absolutely free!(my favourite word by the way!)

With a local company providing mobile blogging, this would be so much easier on my pocket! 🙂

Now, if you’re really interested, you might find their premium services pretty interesting. To use the screen sharing and unlimited internet sharing function, just subscribe to their premium services. Plus, if you pay Rm2.50 a month, you can get unlimited internet and screen sharing!

… I’m actually enticing myself to go download the thing out of curiosity. Hmm. If any of you decide to download it as well, let me know! I’ll probably need to brighten up my contact list with more human beings. My Moji can’t keep me company for long!