AIM, BeejiveIM instant-messaging apps get push

The new version of AIM notifies you when a new instant message arrives.

Good news on the IM front: AIM (Free Edition) and BeejiveIM 3.0 are among the first instant-messaging apps to support push notification, meaning you'll get alerted to new messages even when the apps aren't running.

If that sounds a bit familiar, it's because we reported on AIM's use in push-notification stress-testing about a week ago.

It also follows the news that uberpopular texting app TextFree was first out of the SMS gate with push support, allowing users to get new-message notifications while the iPhone is off or doing other things.

AIM offers a fairly robust feature set for a free app. It supports multiple screen names and works with AOL, ICQ, .Mac, and MobileMe accounts. It keeps you logged in for 24 hours and gives you the option of receiving notifications via SMS for those times when you're logged out.

I particularly like how you can finger-swipe between different chats. Of course, those features have been around for a while. The big news here is push, and in my tests it worked flawlessly.

I haven't been able to test BeejiveIM 3.0 yet, which is notable for its cross-platform support of AIM/MobileMe, Facebook, GTalk, MSN, Yahoo, and just about every other chat service known to man.

Thankfully, the developer lowered the $15.99 price tag, though it's still on the pricey side at $9.99.

Of course, when you take into account the money you stand to save on SMS charges, that might just be the deal of the century.

Are you geeked about push-enabled IM? If so, what's your favorite app? (Feel free to list those that haven't received the push treatment just yet.)