Alonia

Instant messengers can be customized with a wide range of plugins and skins. Although you can change the way they look, you can not change the way they work. Alonia offers a fresh approach when it comes to chatting with people over the Internet. Besides chatting, you can also call them on their phones, send SMS messages and more.

The software is free, but you will have to pay if you want to call someone's phone or send an SMS message. After a swift installation process, you will have to create an online account which you can use to sign into the Alonia messenger. Before logging in, you should make sure the software is allowed through your Windows firewall, otherwise it will not connect.

A chat window is displayed at all times, on the main area of the interface. Your contacts are listed on the left side of the window and double clicking one of them will open a new tab on the chat window, where you can chat with that person. When talking to more than one person, your screen will not be crowded with chat windows. You can have multiple conversations on the same window, and you only need to click a tab to switch between contacts.

You can make phone calls or send SMS messages on the same area of the interface. Additional navigation tabs can be found above the chat window and you can use them to switch between these services. Under the Info tab, you can access local or world wide news, information on the exchange rate. You can also connect to different online radio stations under the Info tab. The software will display a long list of available stations and you only need to click one to connect to it.

You can add people who also have an Alonia account, but you can also chat with contacts from your previous messenger. This can be done without importing them or going through confusing options. The software lets you connect with other accounts, created on Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. All you need to do is type in your username and password in the Account section, on the program's settings panel. Once you connect, all your contacts will be displayed on Alonia's interface and you can chat with them just like in any other instant messenger.