How does IMing on Android compare to Windows?

[Trybalt]

I've never owned an Android device myself, and have limited hands-on time with them. But lately I've wanted an Android tablet so bad I can't stand it. I'm strongly considering getting the Toshiba tablet when it releases next month.

I'm looking for my tablet to replace most of the functions that I use my laptop for. One function that I'm a bit concerned about is instant messaging. I'm not into Facebook, and I use texting very sparingly... IMs are one of my primary communication tools. I often carry on lengthy IM conversations and continuing to do so is important to me.

On Windows, I use Pidgin to talk to friends with AIM, MSN, and Google accounts. I've gotten very used to having multiple IM windows open and seeing that orange flash in the task bar when a new message comes through. I tried using Linux years ago and one of the problems I had at the time was not being able to figure out a way to display any sort of visual IM notification (I don't want IM sounds activated if I can help it).

So what I'm hoping is that there are good instant messaging apps for Android (optimized for Honeycomb?) that will give me at least as good of an IM environment that I'm used to on Windows. What kinds of notifications will I see? Are there any videos that could help demonstrate this sort of multitasking and notification system to me? Am I likely to have an issue with Android Honeycomb in this regard?

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

I only use Gtalk, but there are plenty of apps that consolidate most of the IM platforms into one application. Trillian and eBuddy come to mind first.

Notifications: in the bottom right corner, where the clock is, you get notifications. Icons appear and stay visible, and a quick tap opens a list where you can see all the ones you haven't dismissed. When you receive a new notification, a small preview pops up for about 5 seconds for each. Honeycomb does notifications very, very well IMO.

 

[Trybalt]

That sounds pretty great. So new IMs will remain visible until I've done something about it? And it's visible no matter which app I am currently looking at, so long as the IM program is running in the background? Sounds like I should have absolutely no issue with this, then.