Strange, haven't had any problem with it at all myself. I did a quick test after reading this and got somebody to install it on a stock Wing, no problems there either. I use it regularly, even like the recent changes that help save battery life when the phone is idle. *Sigh* Wing, like any other Windows device, can have various pieces of software disagree with each other though. Quite depressing.

ok, I had to uninstall that **** cuz my phone froze up as the Windows Mobile screen tried to disappear. I had to remove my storage card (where the palringo was installed) and then restart my phone just to be able to get my phone to work again. Have u had any such problem???
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.6) T-Mobile_Atlas

THANKS for this info!!!!! Im gonna have to check it out soon cuz IM definitely sucks on the Wing.

Palringo

Let's face it. The T-Mobile Wing's IM client system is ... bad. REALLY bad. Doesn't close unless you power down your phone completely. Fails to connect oftentimes. The whole process of connecting is a chore even when it does.

Thankfully, T-Mobile came out with a software update for the Wing just this summer! Unfortunately, this software update didn't fix a single problem with the IM client.

As such, after much hunting... (Yeah, I know... you can just picture me stalking around the internet, sniffing at the ground and tracking down the perfect IM client to pounce on...) I can finally say that there is now a Fox Approved™ Multi-IM client for the Wing: Palringo (You can also use this on Windows PC as well as Windows Mobile, and of course Java Mobile, Symbian, Linux, and MacOS.)

Besides being its own IM system (The Palringo Network itself) which supports mobile IM via text, voice, and photo, Palringo also supports a wide array of other protocols. MSN/Windows Live Messager, Yahoo IM, ICQ, AIM, GoogleTalk, Jabber, and Gadu-Gadu support make this a well-rounded multi-IM client.

Palringo doesn't have a very large footprint on the phone when running, so it leaves room for other things to run (Like the camera!). This overcomes a major shortfall of the built-in Wing IM client (IM and Camera at the same time? They laugh at you!) and the extra protocols used in Palringo make for a much more useful client.

One downside is that logging in to any other client system (AIM, Y!, etc) requires you to first log into the Palringo system from your phone. Yes, you need to have a Palringo account to use your other accounts on the IM software on your phone. The good news is that their privacy policy and terms of use are currently clear-cut in your favor.

The only other notable downside is that Palringo maintains an EDGE data link to keep its IM operations running smoothly (Works over WiFi also), so it can be a strain on your battery.

One of the best parts, in my humble opinion, is the fact that Palringo rings in with a price tag of -ZERO-. While future "Premium Features" may cost, and Enterprise accounts probably do as well, there are promises out that the current rich feature set will remain free.

Beyond that, I personally have been using Palringo for some time now and I am very pleased. I can still use my phone for the entire day without losing battery fully (Recharge at night though!!!) and it's nice to be able to both use all my IM systems as well as still be able to use my camera. Palringo still has a huge number of features that I personally have not delved into, such as multi-target messaging (Send a single voice recording or photo to many people), so there should be something for everybody.

Simple enough for a neophyte, powerful enough for a large organization (They even do Enterprise accounts), Palringo is officially Fox Approved™.

Get more information and download it here.