Independent Web and mobile instant-messaging service eBuddy has launched eBuddy Pro, a new, premium, ad-free, multi-network mobile IM application.

The new paid version of eBuddy is available for Apple?s iPhone and iPod Touch via the App Store for $4.99. The mobile instant-messaging application enables iPhone and iPod touch owners with AOL's AIM, Facebook Chat, ICQ, Google's Gtalk, MySpace, Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger or Yahoo Messenger to have multiple chats in a single aggregated interface for an on-the-go chat experience.

?We?ve had an advertising business model for the last few years, and this is the first time we decided to charge for premium services,? said Jan-Joost ?JJ? Rueb, cofounder/CEO of eBuddy, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. ?We provide push messages, and that?s something new for us to keep people live in our platform, but there are costs associated with that.

?The iPhone is a group of people who have some money?these are the hardcore users within that group, early adopters who prefer not to see ads and want a longer push time, from one hour to three days,? he said. ?Half of the people who have an iPhone regularly buy apps and don?t mind spending a few dollars or euros.?

EBuddy processes more than 11 billion messages per month and enables more than 30 million unique monthly visitors to chat in one interface across all major IM networks.

The mobile IM platform has more than 10 million unique monthly users, and offers four free versions: eBuddy for iPhone and iPod touch, eBuddy for Android, eBuddy Mobile Messenger (J2ME) and eBuddy Lite Messenger (mobile Web).

Be my eBuddy
According to applications-store analytics company Distimo, eBuddy for iPhone and iPod touch has ranked as a top-10 social-networking application in 76 of 77 of Apple App Store countries since launching in July 2009.

The new paid version features push notifications for incoming messages when users exit the application for up to three days.

Users can set their display picture from their camera or photo library, as well as send pictures to friends.

Users can switch between chats by swiping their screen and can shake their iPhone or iPod Touch to send a buzzer.

The paid version of eBuddy does not contain advertisements, but the company will run house ads in its free version to promote the paid version.

This is a strategy change for eBuddy and signals a push to further monetize their mobile growth. The company claims to be growing at a rate of more than 1 million mobile users per month, and across all platforms eBuddy is adding 250,000 users per day.

The free, ad-supported version of eBuddy for iPhone has 2.5 million users. Mobile ad network InMobi has run ads on the platform from brands such as the Coca-Cola Co., Honda, Vodafone, Nokia, Samsung and Capcom (see story).

Both the free and paid versions are available in more than 30 languages.

?We already have 2.5 million uniques a month on iPhone, and 500,000 to 600,000 come online every single day, and from there we?re upselling to the premium version,? Mr. Rueb said. ?We might do some barter exchanges for banner ads with applications that have more than 1 million users per month to cross-market the traffic.

?If you download the free app, you get house ads with a call-to-action asking you to upsell to the premium app,? he said. ?We?re profitable?advertising revenues are pretty decent right now, and this is the next step.?