I know I mentioned the GOGII textPlus by GOGII running on Android almost two weeks ago, but I didn’t have any screenshots of it running quite yet. Well… now I do – look above.

Additional features make it easy for Android texters to make textPlus their preferred SMS service, including the international ability to send free messages from abroad to friends in the U.S. using a U.S. 10-digit phone number and free Notifications when messages come into the app, even when closed. What’s more, textPlus lets Android users communicate with friends who aren’t using the app – they simply pay for texts through their existing carrier plan.

Combined with Fring also on to the Android platform, Google Android is shaping up to be a good option to my Apple iPhone.

[ Links: GOGII, textPlus ] [ Related: GOGII announces textPlus for Android ]

Fring has always been on the cutting edge and one of my favorite multiple client IM programs on my Nokia N810 and Apple iPhone but the addition of being able to receive video just pushes it that much further than the rest in my book.

And what a new year’s gift this is… the world’s first video calls over internet on the Apple iPhone and Apple iPod Touch! fringsters with iPhones and iPod Touch (and selected Nokia devices as announced last week) can now see all their family and friends on fring and Skype this Holiday Season!

Right now iPhone and iPod touch users can receive and make fring and Skype video calls entirely over Internet connection (for free!) and see the person on the other end. When a front camera is placed on these, we’ll have two-way video calls available here too just as we do on all the supported Nokia devices.

The promise of 2-way video from Fring has my attention, that’s been the killer app in my mind for quite some time. Just will be awkward because the Apple iPhone has no forward facing camera at the moment and the Nokia devices they’re currently supporting are only the Symbian phones.

But the Maemo powered Nokia N900 also has a forward facing camera… how about some support there too fring? Please?

[ fring ] [ Skype ] [ fring blog ]

I’ve tried to use the AIM application that’s been out and it still just does not do what I’d like for it to do… like never crash. I’ve switched to Fring, which gives me Skype and SIP (Gizmo Project mostly in my case) as well as MSN, GoogleTalk, and AIM.

Enter Nimbuzz.

Landscape-chat makes it easy and fast to type
Call your IM buddies all over the world for free on your Wifi connection: Skype, Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger (MSN), Google Talk
Chat with social network friends: Facebook, MySpace, Gadu-Gadu, studiVZ, Hyves

Presently it’s free in the Apple iTunes Store, and honestly, it’s giving my love of Fring a run for the money. The landscape mode definitely gives me more room to type, a more comfortable way to hold the phone and… ok, I like the default tones.