Independent Web and mobile instant messaging platform eBuddy has launched an application for Google's Android that connects consumers with various IM services.

eBuddy for Android lets consumers connect with AOL's AIM, Facebook, ICQ, Google Talk, Yahoo or MSN Windows Live Messenger to have multiple chats in one interface, providing a mobile chat experience. The eBuddy for Android multi-language instant messaging application is available as a phone download via Android Market, the destination where consumers can discover and download a variety of applications to personalize their Android-powered phone.

"We are launching two apps for Android, a free, advertising-based version, and in a couple of months, we will allow people to upgrade to a paid version," said Onno Bakker, cofounder/COO of eBuddy, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. "We started with J2ME, Java for mobile phones, and we grew really big with our mobile user base, and we're just adding advertising in there.

"Android OS is an upgraded version of J2ME/Java, and our developers said ?This is how Java should have been done on phones from the start,' because Java on one phone was not the same as the Java on another phone," he said.

The Android Market has recorded 40 million downloads during the initial 6 months since launch, and currently features more than 3,000 apps, of which one-third are paid.

Free applications in the Android Market are currently available for download in the U.S., Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, Australia and Singapore.

Android mobile owners download an average 40 applications per phone.

More than 1 million Android-powered T-Mobile G1 phones have been sold since the device launched in September 2008.

Vodafone has begun exclusive sales of its Android-powered HTC Magic mobile phone in Britain, Germany, Spain and France, with more countries to follow

HTC is planning to release two additional Android-powered handsets this year, and Samsung, SE and Huawei plan to release Android-powered handsets in the third quarter.

eBuddy is available in more than 30 languages and is currently processing over 6 billion messages per month.

The majority of eBuddy users are between 13-18, but the company anticipates that the Android demographic may be older and more affluent.

"The G1 is an expensive phone and users have money to spend, so it's an interesting demographic to be targeting," Mr. Bakker said.

eBuddy offers two versions of its mobile IM client, the J2ME version, eBuddy Mobile Messenger at http://get.ebuddy.com, and the mobile Internet version, eBuddy Lite Messenger at http://m.ebuddy.com.

eBuddy Mobile Messenger has been downloaded more than 20 million times and has more than 5 million unique monthly users.

eBuddy for Android features include eBuddy ID, a single log-in to access various IM networks, the ability to run in the background and new message notifications in the Android status bar.

In addition, eBuddy offers the emoticons for every IM network, buddy list grouping, profile viewing, account management, automatic reconnect and the ability to receive offline messages.

The app is compatible with Android 1.1 and 1.5 (Cupcake).

eBuddy is partnering with Google, AdMob and a variety of other mobile ad networks. The company says that it is constantly playing the optimization game, shifting dollars between the various ad networks.

It sells campaigns directly to brands in the Netherlands and Britain, where eBuddy has the greatest market share.

Reuters ran a campaign on eBuddy's mobile site that ran through Google.

However, going forward eBuddy plans to rely on pay-per-download and micropayments models more than ad support.

"The mobile advertising model is promising, but it has been promising for the last five years, every year is going to be the year and it's still too early to tell from our point-of-view to see if it will work," Mr. Bakker said. "Choice is a strong differentiator, so we're giving people an incentive to pay for the app but we'll offer a free ad-supported version as well.

"The ARPU gain can be turned into a much higher amount with a paid version," he said. "You have to scale, though -- that's the name of the game -- and hence we're releasing the free app to start with."