BlackBerry® Messenger is the instant messaging (IM) program that’s unique to BlackBerry smartphone users. You can instantly chat, send and receive pictures, and set your availability status using a familiar desktop IM look and feel—all from your BlackBerry smartphone.
A new version of BlackBerry Messenger will soon be available. We’ve been trying a leaked version of BBM 5.0 for a couple of months now and we couldn’t be more impressed with the new features:
Enhanced SMS -Allows for a conversational chat-like user experience with a single contact list for the most personal mobile-to-mobile communications
Avatars -Users can choose a picture from the BlackBerry Smartphone gallery and save it as their personal avatar, which will be seen by their contacts. They can also view other avatars in the contact list and zoom in on the avatars of contacts participating in a conversation by selecting “View participants.”
Large Media File Transfer -Users can send/receive large file transfers up to 6 megabytes for pictures, files and audio.
Enhanced Group Functionality -Allows for the ability to update, share & communicate with a subset community.
Bar-code Identity -A user can add a contact to the BlackBerry Messenger contact list by displaying a 2-dimensional bar code that invitees can capture with their device cameras.
Reliable Contact Backup and Restore -Contacts are backed-up on a server and do not require the need for BlackBerry® Desktop Manager.
Recently, a BlackBerry Cool reader wrote in saying:
“Since 5 PM EST, July 23rd, I started to notice that a lot of my contacts started showing up as ‘contact is unavailable.’ I broadcasted a message to all of my contacts and they seem to be having the same problems! I’m not too sure if this is just a Canadian carrier problem or what, but it has effected Bell, Rogers, and TELUS customers. I’ve asked my friend at RIM and he says they aren’t sure what the problem is.”
Trouble Ticket Number: 7392092 Severity: 2-Medium Description of Issue: RIM is experiencing latency with PIN messages. This will affect PIN messages, Blackberry Messenger, Service Book delivery, and other Blackberry services. Location of Issue: North America and surrounding areas Start Time: Jul 23 2009 10:00 AM PDT Symptoms you MAY experience: RIM Blackberry users may be unable to send/receive messages or may have difficulty connecting to the network. Estimated time of repair: Unknown
BerryBuzz has gone version 2.0 and it includes lots of new features and bug fixes. They’ve even added BlackBerry Messenger support, which has been considered “technically not possible.”
Another great feature is the Disco LED, which is demo’d in the video above.
The upgrade is $2.99 for previous owners of BerryBuzz 1.0 and free for users who have purchased BerryBuzz 1.0 after June 25th, 2009.
BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 has been available for OTA download over the weekend and you’ve probably seen people Tweeting about it. The good folks at Omie Tech have been creating mirrors and redirects for the downloads because they keep getting pulled and exceeding their bandwidth.
BGR has been dropping a ton of leaks about the upcoming BlackBerry Messenger that comes with OS 5.0. So far, we know the following about the new BBM:
SMS support – BlackBerry devices are finally getting threaded SMS support.
PIN barcode scanning – Rather than find your PIN and reading or sending it, you will be able to scan a barcode to get the PIN. Just press the barcode option and another BlackBerry with a camera can scan it.
Backup/Restore Messenger list to microSD card —This is going to be huge, especially for people who change devices a lot.
Avatar support — set your own avatar using the Camera or saved photo on your device (this is displayed locally as well as shown next to your Messenger name on your friend’s buddy list).
GPS location integration — you can now set permissions so friends can always see your location, have to request it each time, or never can see it.
Proximity sensor — we’re guessing this will let you know if you’re within a certain distance of friends (pending, of course, you’re both set to share locations freely with each other).
Set conversation subjects — this will allow you to organize your convos on the main Messenger screen and label them with subjects to keep track of all your conversations.
Homescreen support — you can pin/sticky actual Messenger contacts directly to the homescreen for easy access!
This new messenger client is becoming so powerful it’s almost a selling feature for the device on its own. I would like to see BBM import other chat clients to make a one-stop-shop for communicating with all your contacts.
I use BlackBerry messenger often to keep in touch with both friends and coworkers. The messenger is useful but really boring in its lack of features and functionality. The coming update to BlackBerry Messenger will come with some incredible features and changes.
The upcoming BlackBerry Messenger includes:
* Avatar support — set your own avatar using the Camera or saved photo on your device (this is displayed locally as well as shown next to your Messenger name on your friend’s buddy list)
* GPS location integration — you can now set permissions so friends can always see your location, have to request it each time, or never can see it
* Proximity sensor — we’re guessing this will let you know if you’re within a certain distance of friends (pending, of course, you’re both set to share locations freely with each other)
* Set conversation subjects — this will allow you to organize your convos on the main Messenger screen and label them with subjects to keep track of all your conversations
* Homescreen support — you can pin/sticky actual Messenger contacts directly to the homescreen for easy access!
No word on launch dates yet but it will likely come with OS 5.0. Don’t expect to be able to pick up a leaked OS 5.0 and use this though, it’s still in beta and very much a guarded secret.
While we’ve known that the upcoming flip BlackBerry Kickstart will be shipping with OS 4.6, one assumed that it would be packing all the same goodies as the BlackBerry Bold. Jibi managed to have some fun on the BlackBerry 8220 simulator, however, and got some virtual impressions of the device in action. The biggest addition is CellData, which is going to be a second-best to a full-blown GPS unit. By recognizing cell tower usage and pairing it up with map data, folks who grab the Kickstart will be able to get a rough idea of where they are – not too shabby for what could be a $50 handset. The BlackBerry 9000 will be making use of the same kind of technology, only in conjunction with proper GPS in order to improve accuracy.
Aside from that, the simulator was running with MyFaves on the home screen, confirming a T-Mobile launch. BlackBerry Messenger will also getting some updates which we had heard about before, such as sharing your playlist and “On the Phone” status with BB Messenger contacts. Of course the Kickstart will be including the Clock app we’ve been waiting ever-so-patiently for from the Bold. Don’t forget that the BlackBerry 8220 will be packing Wi-Fi as well, which means MyFaves, WiFi calling and cell tower location tracking are all going to be under the same hood. Not a bad little package.
Gadget guru Boy Genius has been toting around a BlackBerry Bold for at least a month now, and has posted a lengthy and juicy run-down of the device. A lot of it has to do with OS 4.6, but there’s plenty on build quality, screen, and speakers too. BlackBerry Messenger gets a significant overhaul, including ability to send videos, send messages to multiple recipients, show the music you’re listening to, and automatically change your status message when on the phone. Notifications for buddies coming online is a pretty sweet feature too.
After encountering a half-zillion different IM clients the other week, we thought it might be prudent to throw them all in the ring together and see how they compare. It’s a beefy list, indeed… in terms of stand-alone clients, we have BlackBerry Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and Google Talk. Among the multi-platform apps, we have Palringo, IM+, Mundu, Instango, JiveTalk, and WebMessenger.
