Microsoft brings Windows Live with IM to the iPhone

Microsoft Corporation today made available (iTunes) Windows Live Messenger on the iPhone.

The application is the first official release of the instant messaging and social networking client on the iPhone, years after the iPhone first launched.

The application includes support for push notifications, meaning users can sign in and leave the application on in the background to receive notifications and alerts without straining the battery; similar to how the BlackBerry works.

Users were previously able to use popular third party multi-client instant messaging applications on the platform that also include push notifications, however, this release from Microsoft is more comprehensive and includes more than just messaging capabilities.

 The app also includes a feed that shows what your friends share on social websites, including Flickr, and Facebook, among on other social networking sites.

The application also supports embedded email management, allowing users to conveniently read and send emails directly from within the app.

Other popular instant messaging services, like Google’s gtalk service, has yet to be released officially by Google on the iPhone.

Google already offers integrated multi-client support on its Android devices, including support for both Windows Live Messenger and gtalk.

The competition in the mobile realm is heating up, Apple previously enjoyed a competitive advantage with its iPhone with superior Internet browsing, and gaming and media.

Today, competitors, like Google Android, are able to also offer such a browsing experience with extensive media support on par with the iPhone, at prices significantly lower than what the iPhone retails for.
The iPhone still does not do one thing very well, at least natively, and that is support for out-of-the-box instant messaging support, which has stopped many from buying the iPhone over BlackBerry, for example, mainly over productivity concerns related to messaging.

With millions of Windows Live users worldwide, many will find this long awaited free app from Microsoft very welcoming for their iPhone.

Google has yet to release gtalk for the iPhone, and it is unclear at this point if the company has plans to release it, considering each company is trying to gain some sort of competitive edge (such as out-of-the-box gtalk support only on Android) with their respective mobile platforms.

Microsoft is readying its latest Windows Mobile operating system, dubbed Windows Phone 7 Series, with the first devices running the new OS being expected to launch by the end of this year.