The Zipit Wireless Messenger 2 Instant Messaging-Only Device is the Perfect Gift for Teens and Tweens!  
by Anne P. Mitchell, Esq. - Last updated 12/31/2007

If your teen is racking up bills instant messaging on a cell phone, has taken over your computer to instant message their friends, or is pestering you because they “need” a cell phone or some other device to instant message their friends, and if you really would like to let them message their friends, but aren’t ready to give them that cell phone, then the Zip It Wireless Messenger may be just the ticket!

The ZipIt Wireless Instant Messenger 2 is an always-on Internet instant messenger device whose primary purpose is just one thing: instant messaging. It also will allow your teen to play music - including to stream some Internet radio stations, and show photos, but the only regular Internet functionality is instant messaging - no email, no web browsing, no YouTube - and it has no cell phone capabilities at all.

Because the Zip-It uses wifi hotspots for its instant messaging, with an optional add-on of being able to send and receive text messages to and from cell phones for only $4.99 a month for 3000 messages, the only charges you will ever incur with the Zip It Instant Messenger device is the cost to purchase ($149.00) and, if you choose to add it, the $4.99 per month for 3000 ZipIt-to-cell phone text messages.

Here’s how ZipIt describes their always-on instant messaging device:

Instant message seamlessly with AOL, Yahoo, and MSN IM accounts - hold as many simultaneous conversations as you dare. Since it works anywhere there is a free, open wireless network, IM all you want for FREE! That’s right…FREE!

Chill to your favorite music with MyTunezTM while you IM & text. You can listen to your favorite MP3’s or stream internet radio stations.

Show off your latest photos and slideshows with MyPhotoz”

Reviews of the ZipIt Wireless Messenger are almost universally positive. Says one happy user on Amazon, “The ZipIt Wireless Messenger is the best instant messaging device I have ever used. The ability to connect to any open access point is one of its strongest strengths - I can use it out in the park, at many local resturants, and at school. The software is very easy to use… Physically, the device is lightweight yet has a solid feel to its construction.” The reviewer concludes by saying that the ZipIt should appeal both to “Parents who want the family computer back after their teens constantly hog it to chat with friends,” and to “Teens, who are tired of sharing the family computer just to chat.”

USA Today, in reviewing the ZipIt opined “If your tween is endlessly IM’ing on the family PC, you might want to check out the Z2, a sleek handheld with flip-out color screen and keyboard that lets you send instant messages and store music and photos,” and Yahoo pointed out that “Customizing is big on the new Zipit. Kids can change backgrounds, fonts, and other features to personalize these portable instant message devices.”

Perhaps Sympatico-MSN summed it up best, saying that the ZipIt is the “Best gadget…The Zipit Wireless Messenger 2 is a sleek Wi-Fi instant-messaging device that lets you chat via IM without being tied to the personal computer.”

But all that said, do the teens and tweens like the ZipIt?

All signs point to yes!

Says a teen who got her ZipIt for Christmas from her grandparents, “I love my Z2, it’s the best. My grandparents got it for me for Christmas and ever since I’ve been using it everyday. I can chat with all of my friends on AIM, Yahoo, MSN and I can even text message them from my zipit which I think is so cool! I love their internet radio stations, I listen to them while I IM just like I would on the computer. I also like that I can customize the background and themes to something that fits my style. Overall it’s the best!!”

The ZipIt retails for $149.00, but you can get the ZipIt Wireless Instant Messenger through Amazon for as little as $125.00.