As one of the developers on the new eBuddy multi-network client I’d like to introduce you to some features I really like. These are not the obvious ‘big’ new features of the client, like the fact you can log in with as many different accounts as you want. These are features you might not even notice if they weren’t pointed out. Nonetheless, I believe these features really enrich the user’s experience and hopefully even make you forget you’re actually still just visiting a website.

Design
First and foremost (and very noticable) is the fresh new design by Garbrand. We’ve lost the old eBuddy blue and got some cool white and grey in return. Colorful icons and shiny new buttons grace an interface that doesn’t get in your way. Can you tell I really like this design?

Resizable layout
The new client has been designed and built so it neatly fits just about any size you give your browser and use the available space more efficiently. Buttons and other key components are always in the same spot relative to the browser edges so it’s easier to find them when you resize your browser and resizing the window feels very smooth. Personally, I like to chat with a wide window because I often have many tabs open simultaneously. If you prefer a more narrow setup it’s completely up to you! It should look and feel good at almost any size.

Tabs

Every contact you’re chatting with gets its own tab, so you can chat with more people at the same time. These tabs have some subtle properties you might not notice. First of all and most noticable, they have an icon that indicates the network status of the contact you’re chatting with, so you can immediately see if the person is online, offline, busy or away. Another small feature is the automatic shortening of the contact’s display name in the tab so all the open tabs fit neatly in the window. If there’s ever too little text in the tab to see who you’re chatting with, hover the mouse pointer over the tab to get a little tooltip with the full name.

Filter

Every new feature is of course extensively tested on the eBuddy employees before we decide to leave it in permanently. One feature that was an immediate hit was the filter. Just enter a few characters and the contact list filters out all contacts whose account or display name don’t match. Our employees generally have rather long contact lists and multiple accounts online and it became clear very quickly to us this was a extremely useful tool if you want to find a particular contact.

The future
Of course we’ve still got an extensive list of features (both big and small) we want to deliver and the features that are already in have hardly been perfected. For instance, I’m not fully satisfied yet with the way tabs are sized and the filter could also be improved. I’m sure you can think of a few improvements, too. Please let us know! It’s a Beta and stuff might break occasionally but we’re totally committed to deliver the best user experience when it comes to Instant Messaging.

The eBuddy Big-Wigs popped up on some websites today! Our CEO, Jan-Joost Rueb, shared his top-5 startup tips on Centernetworks. (And if you can read Dutch, he was also interviewed by Dutch entrepreneurial magazine Sprout.)

Meanwhile, our COO Onno Bakker was interviewed on the Next Web Awards. Take a look if you want to know how he feels about the future of the internet.

Wow guys, thanks for all the high-quality feedback you have been sending us. We have received an amazing amount of compliments and feedback. What surprised us the most however, is the quality of feedback. The posts have been really articulate and detailed, thanks!

These are the top 3 requested features you send us:

1. Upload your own avatar
2. New email notification
3. Change font and font settings

Even though we already had those features planned, we decided to move them up and do them first. You guys asked for it!

We have some housekeeping to do (mainly stabilizing the foundation of our application, we’ll also blog about that), when that is done we start implementing these features. Keep an eye on this blog!

The new eBuddy Web Messenger Beta has arrived.

We are proud to announce the immediate release of the multi-network eBuddy Web Messenger Beta. Instant Messaging just got fun again.

It has been completely rewritten from the ground up. The new client allows you to easily manage all your contacts, whether they are on MSN, AIM, ICQ or Yahoo. Here are some of the new features that come with this client:

1. Multi-Network

The new client allows you to chat to your contacts on MSN, Yahoo! and AIM, all from within the same application. Now you can manage all your contacts from a single, consistent application.

2. Completely Overhauled Interface

The Beta features a brand new design. After taking a long look at what people wanted, we made the interface a much nicer place to be. You will find it much easier to navigate your contacts and your tabs.

3. Developed In-House

Because we have developed this application completely in-house, you can expect more features being added regularly. Already we have some great new stuff cooking in the lab - keep your eyes peeled for new functions! We’ll discuss them here on the blog as well, of course.

4. Live Filter

The Live Filter is one of the improvements we made to work with large contact lists. Just type in a couple of characters from the name of the contact you are looking for and see the list shorten as you type.

5. Web Application

To use the new client, all you need is a modern browser and an internet connection. There is nothing to install, and it will even work behind a firewall.

Log in to the new eBuddy Web Messenger »

Yesterday we invited a group of eBuddy users to our headquarters in Amsterdam for a User Day. We organize days like these to find out more about what YOU think of our products and what features you find cool to add. The users who were there took our new Mobile Messenger for a spin and gave us some good feedback and new ideas!

We ended the afternoon with a boat trip through the Amsterdam canals. With some pizza& drinks on a boat in the sun, quite a nice ending of the day See all pics here.

More User Days will follow, so if you would like to join, please drop us an email on feedback[at]ebuddy.com!

We keep an eye on the interwebs for eBuddy related stuff. This one we just had to post: the “official ebuddy song” on YouTube.

As some of you might’ve noticed, we experienced some problems when logging into Yahoo. As far as we can tell it started on Friday and we worked long into the night to get the problems resolved and since then everything seems fine again.

If you experience any problems logging in or find that some functionality is broken, please let us know.

Last Friday, the Next Web conference was held in Tuschinski theatre in Amsterdam.

Inspiring speakers from influential companies all over the world, including Netvibes, Plazes, Yahoo!, Techcrunch, Adobe, Digg (via IM) were present to give their view on, or demo the newest of the newest in Web 2.0.

eBuddy was present too (of course )! Onno, one of the three founders of eBuddy gave a demo of our new web client (in closed beta) and our new mobile messenger (beta still open to sign up). The presentation went very good, but of course at the time of the demo, there was a Wifi problem….Murphy was present.
Nonetheless, we got a big ‘Wow’ out of the critics in the audience.