In my line of work, PalTalk is one of the most valuable communication tools available. The ability to not just text chat, but to speak in realtime, is something that PalTalk appears to have spent a lot of time perfecting.

SOFTWARE DOWNLOAD/INSTALLATION
When it comes to any software product, the 3 most essential factors to take into account are the download size, the installation and the setup after installation. PalTalk gets top marks for all 3 of these.

TEXT CHAT
The text chat side of PalTalk is better than average; Quality and clarity are both very well done, with the only 2 aspects that let it down are the inability to use the right click copy/paste and the fact that URL's do not hyperlink.

VOICE CHAT
The voice chat side of Paltalk could do with some fine tuning. At times, slower modem connections get better quality and faster voice chat than those with superfast DSL or better. The voice breaks up occasionally, and sometimes gets crossed with another members.

SOFTWARE ISSUES
All PalTalk windows have an Ad bar at the top. These are not a problem most of the time, unfortunately, if these Ads do not load correctly (rare), the entire system can at times, freeze up. Each time you open of close Paltalk, a pop-up window loads (not there if you choose to upgrade and pay Paltalk to use it).

SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
The biggest problem with Paltalk is the effect that it can have on the system performance. At times, PalTalk can freeze up, causing you to either crash the program or reboot the PC. The PC memory is decreased as soon as the software is loaded, and in many cases, will stay that way until after rebooting the PC.

OTHER
Emailing PalTalk Support does not generally get a reply unless you ask for one. Problems are not taken care of quickly and efficiently.

On a whole, I have no big problem using PalTalk. I do however, believe that the system could be improved in so many ways, at such little cost to the company.


Recommended: Yes