Pownce: Send Stuff in Style
This article was originally written on Site Scrutiny, my old blog. Since that site was taken down, I have merged it’s articles with the archives of Simply-Basic.com
The Skinny
I’ve never been a fan of instant messaging. MSN, Yahoo, Google Chat, ICQ, I’ve tried a host of them. Pownce is not your ordinary messaging client. Pownce lets you easily send several things to your friends: messages, files (like photos or videos), links, and event invites/reminders. Though still in invite-only mode, Pownce has both a web-based and a desktop application that looks and feels great.
The Lowdown
Pownce is a sleek, Web 2.0 application that helps you connect to your friends. They describe it pretty good themselves:
Pownce is a way to send stuff to your friends. What kind of stuff? You can send just about anything: music, photos, messages, links, events, and more. You can do it all on our web site, or install our lightweight desktop software that lets you get out of the browser.
Pownce is still pretty new, so to get started you’ll need an invitation code. Your best bet is to submit your email on their site and hope you’ll get one. I have a few invites I can send out (keep reading to see how to get one). After signing up you are taken to your main administrative page. This is your homebase; from here you’ll send your messages, files, links, as well as your invites.
Sending files is extremely simple. Take a look at the interface:
All you do is click on what you want to send (a message, a file, etc) and then fill out the appropriate information and hit Post It! You can chose weather to make your messages private or to send them to specific friends. Files can only be sent to friends. Anything you mark as public will be displayed to the world. You can check out a copy of my public profile that I made for this review here.
Another great feature is the ability to install a desktop client for Windows or OSX, giving it much more of an instant messenger feel. It is not required (as the website containts the same features), but it is faster and a nice break from browser surfing. The desktop application runs on Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), which must be installed on your computer. They provide a handy link for those who don’t have it installed yet.
There are a few limitations. You can change the theme of your pages but there are only a few to chose from now. I imagine that will change as the application develops. Also, there is a 10 MB limit for sending files. It is unfortunate that the limit is so low, as many email clients can handle files up to 10 MB as well. You can increase this limit to 100 MB by paying a measly $20 USD to upgrade to a Pro account. Other than fewer advertisements, a Pro account does not give you any other benefits. But at $20, it’s still not a bad deal.
The Bottom Line
I enjoy Pownce. I think it is a great alternative to emailing your associates files or messages. This could be especially useful for intraoffice exchanges or just for sending a few pictures. The website and application are dang sexy, too. That’s why I’ve given Pownce four stars and tagged it as an Up and Coming application. Hurry and signup for your invite, you’ll enjoy it!