Microsoft is preparing a version of MSN Messenger with new features that will be available exclusively to paying subscribers of the MSN 8 online service.
The Redmond, Wash.-based company plans to release the new instant messaging client, MSN Messenger 5, simultaneously with the launch of MSN 8. That launch could happen as early as October, which should also see the release of version 8 of online service software from AOL Time Warner"s America Online unit. AOL unveiled the latest update to its popular AOL Instant Messenger product, version 5, last week.
Microsoft plans to offer two versions of MSN Messenger 5, one as part of MSN 8 and another as a separate standalone product. But some of the best new features will only be available to MSN 8 customers, who must pay a fee to use the service. An additional feature will be available exclusively to Windows XP users.
Offering exclusive, paid IM features dovetails with Microsoft"s retrenchment of its consumer Web services strategy. Rather than offer a broad set of à la carte services as envisioned under HailStorm, Microsoft plans to offer beefed up services to consumers subscribing to MSN 8. HailStorm, later renamed .Net My Services, would have delivered online calendaring, contacts, location and other services over the Web, mainly through MSN.com. Now many of those services will be funneled into subscription-only MSN 8.
Like its major rivals, Microsoft will continue to offer a free version of its IM software. Still, the strategy of charging for enhanced features marks a major shift in the world of consumer IM products.