Instant Messenger Services Brace for Google's Entry

Google arrived today in the IM space with Google Talk, a client offering both text and audio chat. According to data released by Nielsen//NetRatings, the growth of existing IM solutions tapered in July.

Combined, all instant messaging client users equaled 81.7 million in July, down from just short of 82 million in June of 2005. Skype Messenger climbed 10.6 percent from June to July of this year, holding the fourth rank in the instant messenger space. AOL Instant Messenger experienced a slight dip in unique users; MSN Messenger Service, Trillian, ICQ, and Paltalk.com saw greater losses in the same time period.

U.S. Consumer Long Distance/Local Carrier Destinations, July 2005
Brand	Unique Audience, June 2005 (000)	Unique Audience, July 2005 (000)	Growth (%)
All long distance/local carriers	6,697	6,659	-1
Vonage	3,467	3,382	-2
Skype	1,047	1,300	24
RCN	818	754	-8
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, August 2005

Google Talk will also compete with long distance and local carriers offering audio chat capabilities. Skype experienced 24 percent growth from June to July to reach the number two among long distance and local carriers. In the same period, Vonage.com and RCN fell by two and eight percent, respectively.

U.S. Consumer Instant Messaging Destinations, July 2005
Brand	Unique Audience, June 2005 (000)	Unique Audience, July 2005 (000)	Growth (%)
All instant messaging services	81,956	81,747	-0.3
AOL Instant Messenger	54,433	54,291	-0.3
MSN Messenger	27,861	27,558	-1.1
Yahoo Messenger	20,633	21,354	3.5
Skype	864	956	10.6
Trillian	1,012	882	-12.8
ICQ	782	679	-13.2
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, August 2005

Google Talk will integrate with Gmail and Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), a technology used by Jabber, Adium, and iChat. The software also supports audio chat.

Data from Nielsen//NetRatings features month-over-month unique user comparisons for top instant messenger and VoIP players.