- All plans allow unlimited use of the service
- 5 participants: $149.99 per month
- 10 participants: $249.99 per month
- 20 participants: $399.99 per month
- Hosted web conferencing service
- Share your desktop and applications on it
- Deliver PowerPoint presentations over the web
- Choice of high definition or standard video conferencing
- Take control of a participant's desktop
- Toll free conference call number available
- Integrated instant messaging client
- Comprehensive moderator controls
- Get feedback from your attendees with polling features
- Record and playback events
- Share files easily
- Interactive whiteboarding tools
- Online help provided
- Free trial available
- Compatible with Windows only
IMConferencing is a hosted web conferencing service that also provides an instant messaging client. The feature set is fairly standard and subscriptions only go up to 20 participants per meeting so this isn't a service where you can host large scale webinars. Although the service is pretty good, and we had no problems with it, the prices seem exceptionally high - more than double what some other companies offer for a similar service.
The primary function of IMConferencing is to support web based conferences with full video support and screen sharing capabilities. This means that during a session it is easy to take control of a participant's computer or give them control of yours. Useful features for collaboration and feedback are also provided, such as an interactive whiteboard and polling tools. As well as providing web conferencing support IMConferencing also acts as an instant messaging network. It is possible to instant message other IMConferencing users or contacts from other supported public networks, such as Yahoo and AOL.
The best supported form of communication during an IMConferencing meeting is via microphone and webcam. Depending on how much bandwidth you have available you can choose to use either standard quality or high definition video with a synchronized audio feed. For participants with no video conferencing capabilities a free toll based audio conferencing service is also provided so that they can join in via a telephone. For an extra charge a toll free number is available to give to your guests so that they don't incur any charges.
For a service charging as much as IMConferencing it would be reasonable to expect all the extras when it comes to the standard of service. However, it seems they do not even provide basic encryption on meeting communications. While this won't be a problem if you don't plan on discussing anything confidential, it is something that should be included for the price.
While IMConferencing does provide a decent service we can't see any added value that entitles it to charge more than double the price of some of its competitors. For some more reasonably priced services with a similar set of features check out some of the products in our top ten.
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