I don't know about you, but I'm really, really bored with SMS. Which is why, when I read about this program I thought I'd install it on my phone. The handy app allows you to insert all manner of emoticons and animations into your messages to make the process of asking your friends what they had for tea all the more exciting. In order to enjoy the benefits of the program both parties will need to have Animated SMS installed, but it definitely makes for an attractive solution.

As much as I get annoyed by the fact that youths these days only seem to communicate by clicking their mobile phones, I guess SMS messaging has brought some benefits to the world. People's thumbs are now a lot stronger than a few years ago, we have a brand new language, text speak (or should that be 'txt spk'), and, more importantly, the ability to quickly inform people of things without the hassle of actually having a conversation.

If you're a text fanatic then you may be interested to know that there are a few applications that can improve your SMSing productivity, giving you extra time to send even more messages, and making the whole experience even more enjoyable. Here are some of my favourites:

• MumSMS - Shhhh! Hide your sent and received texts from prying eyes
• Animated SMS - Liven up your text messages with fun animations
• Message Tone - Set different alerts for each person who texts you
• SMS Diary - Publish a personal diary based on your text messages
• SMS Spam Manager - Block all those annoying junk messages
• SMS Chat - View your texts in a more interesting way
• SMS Face - Display an image of the sender of every text message
• NaSMS - Adapt your texts for use in other languages or characters
• BaselsReply (Pocket PC) - Send automated SMS responses to missed calls
• SMS Machine (Palm) - Control all incoming SMS and calls more effectively

Some years ago ICQ was one of the most popular IM applications among Internet users. But when Microsoft launched MSN Messenger, many of these users forgot about their original IM client and joined a network that was growing very quickly. In the meantime, ICQ continued to be upgraded until finally reaching version 6, which sets a new milestone in the history of this classic piece of software.

To begin with, the installation process is fast and easy, the only downside being the fact that you must set ICQ Search as your web browser's default search engine, as there's no way of getting around this option.