App and game reviews by Mobilism's Android Reviews team
May 23rd, 2015, 2:19 am
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App: IRC for Android™ v2.1.43
Developer: CounterCultured
Category: Communication
Price: $4.95
IAP: N/A

IRC for Android™ is a comprehensive client for Internet Relay Chat, which is considered by most to be the most established and thorough of the likes for this platform. For the uninitiated, IRC is an aged protocol that facilitates the transfer of text messages through networks of servers, which is then accessed by client software such as IRC for Android™. It is a notoriously complex system which allows people globally to engage in chat and exchange files within channels in real time with any available Internet connection. This client definitively offers a robust command and feature set comparable to the most sophisticated computer counterparts that are regularly used. In other words, this app has everything you need or could ever want in an IRC client for Android compared to anything else on the market.

Instead of attempting to explain the plethora of commands and usage of the IRC protocol within the confines of this review, I shall traverse a more generalized path within the scope of this spotlight. In similarity, IRC for Android™ would indeed perform very closely to the popular PC client named mIRC, which has been a standard for decades for millions of users. Almost anything you would find within mIRC can be found in this Android application with some platform specific features that add additional value. There are customizations for text and background colors, interface settings, multiple servers, logging to SD card, notifications, BNC support, Quiet Time, DCC Send and Receive, multiple window support for Samsung devices and a bevy of options too long to list. The app will stay connected as a background progress with the use of a notification and icon, so you can stay logged in as you use your device. The user list can be hidden to free up valuable space, which is handy when full timestamps are used that use more characters.

This client supports all the servers you can add through the server editor and supports special BNC types of passwords, which are a bit different from the norm. All channel commands and operations are easily accessible with a single click that will display a visual panel showing you what is enabled currently. The interface is organized and well designed to the point where it appears there isn't much to it at a glance, keeping valuable screen real estate free for conversations. However, as you navigate through the client, you will begin to understand just how far it goes in offering all the features one would expect from a premiere IRC client. I use this app exclusively on four devices and has served me well for quite some time, which I feel is justified for the given price point. There are quite a few clients available on the Android platform, but I would highly recommend IRC for Android™ as I consider it to be the very best of its class, bar none.

Pros:
  • A comprehensive IRC client for the Android platform.
  • Customizable and configurable to suit your individual needs.
  • Full specification of IRC commands, operations and functions.

Cons:
  • No resume of DCC send and receive of files.

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Reviewer rating: Image
Device/OS used: Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7 2012 / KitKat v4.4.4, Lollipop v5.1.1

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Mobilism: IRC for Android ™ v2.1.43 b201012304


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May 23rd, 2015, 2:19 am