A look at IRC7, an IRC client for Windows Phone coming soon to your Mango devices

Ex - IRC addict here (Spent 8-10 hours every day in 10th grade, don't ask how I passed the exams) and I know how important it is to stay in touch with your channel buddies all the time. Windows phone 7 marketplace is currently missing a IRC client. This is due to the lack of socket support at the moment. But with Mango update coming soon, you'd have another reason to enjoy the update even more. Mango update comes with socket support which enables developers to create a bunch of applications such as an IRC client. SoftwareMK has developed an IRC application called IRC7 which will soon be available on Mango devices. More after the break.

Here's a look at the features of IRC7 :

• Light-weight- IRC7 doesn’t stress your phone. Its memory footprint is small and it runs fast.
• Link highlighting- Someone posted an interesting link? No problem, you can open it directly from the chat window.
• Nick highlighting – When someone says something to you, you will notice it. IRC7 highlights your name and makes it easier to spot the important messages.
• Smart encoding- IRC7 defaults to UTF-8 encoding. This works in most of the situations, but if IRC7 notices problems with someone’s messages, it automatically reverts to ISO 8859-1.
• Multi-server support- With IRC7 you’re not limited to only one server. Want to connect to both the QuakeNet and the IRCNet, simultaneously? No problem, IRC7 can do that for you.

Here's a  *very* brief demo video of the application in action:

The application will be available in the Zune marketplace for $0.99 initially along with a free trial (with certain restrictions).
If you have any suggestions for IRC7, please Contact here.

p. s - In the Help section of their official website, a response to FAQ caught my attention:

Q. Why am I disconnected when I switch my Windows Phone 7 to an another app?
A. Unfortunately the Windows Phone 7 Mango doesn’t allow an app to keep its sockets connected when the app is deactivated. This means that all connections are automatically disconnected by the operating system as soon as the app is moved to the background. IRC7 will reconnect automatically when it’s again activated.

Owch. This sort of a restriction is hard to digest. Anyone remembers IdleRPG? No? Get off my lawn!

 I'd love to know if this is a Windows Phone 7 only restriction or do all platforms have this particular restriction?

By Rahul Mathur