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BBM Social Platform goes into Public Beta!

By Kevin Michaluk on 15 Mar 2011 02:24 pm
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BlackBerry Messenger Social Platform

We just got a note from RIM letting us know that the highly-anticipated opening up of the BlackBerry Messenger APIs to BlackBerry app developers is finally happening, with the public beta launch of the new BBM Social Platform...

We wanted to let you know that today the BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) Social Platform officially goes into public beta. This means that the BlackBerry developer community can now take advantage of the powerful social aspects of the ultra popular BBM service (an active user base of over 28 million). The BBM Social Platform was first announced at the BlackBerry DEVCON 2010.

Enhanced Developer Experience - Empowering features: With this beta release, Java developers have access to APIs and features that allow them to build important functions into their applications. They are user permission based and include accessing and updating fields in the user's profile, creating custom areas within the user's profile, initiating and embedding chats with friends, initiating file transfers, sharing applications virally with friends in their contact list.

Developers also have the ability to test the exact workflow and BBM integration that they can expect to see on a live device. This is made possible by special simulators for BlackBerry smartphone OS 5.0 and 6.0.

More developers will take advantage of the amazing features of the BBM Social Platform starting in April 2011 when full support for the BlackBerry WebWorks platform is planned to be added.

Enhanced End User Experience - More than just chat: With this release the BBM Social Platform revolutionizes social interactions. The end user's experience can now be extended beyond just messaging/chat to a whole new breed of socially engaging apps including multimedia, gaming, location-based services(LBS), VoIP, video and commerce. What was previously a solitary experience becomes now a social experience. Users gain the ability to discover new apps with friends and share real-time experiences and content with their inner circle. They enjoy the full advantages of the BBM community - always-on and unparalleled immediacy and responsiveness.

More information about the BBM Social Platform and how it enables developers to add social Super Apps features to their applications can be found on the BlackBerry DevBlog. Additional details regarding BlackBerry Messenger and links to BlackBerry Messenger SDK Beta download pages and to the BlackBerry Messenger Getting Started Guide are available at www.blackberry.com/developers/bbm

Ok developers... the power of the BBM is in your hands now... let's see what you can do. Now getter done!

Topics: BBM News & Rumors

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Kevin Michaluk Kevin Michaluk 3684 (articles) 3023 (forum posts)
52 comments

Machzy

ULTRA POPULAR BBM! NOT JUST REGULAR POPULAR!

Deathcommand

AWWWWWWWWWW
SNAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

west65

Uncle Luke shake them daisy dukes.

tuffy100

If it's public it's not really bbm...

luqman24

Agreed! Might as well change the name to PIM (Public Instant Messenger) or something like that. Now RIM gave BB users who are here just for BBM a free pass to jump ship to either Android or iPhone.

Marc_Paradise

Edit - see my post below, nobody is talking about cross-platform here - just BB apps on BB devices.

irnik

Agreed. And I'm one of them, getting ready to jump off this ship if the so-called BBM is then-called IBM (Iphone BM). I do not understand why RIM is doing this, but they better do something if the BB lovers jump to another ships.

softcactus

Many people will love this app!!!!

Shoftiel37

not happy... B is for BlackBerry!

Blynky

Wait so bbm is for other phones now?

superdeliman

oh wow, so much for our BBM cult. I think that bb should charge a one time fee of $2.99 for the app if other phones want to have it.

Marc_Paradise

Whoah folks.. nobody mentioned that this is a beta of a public service. It's a publicly available beta of the BlackBerry SDK, enabling BlackBerry device developers to use and embed BBM functionality in their BlackBerry applications...

Blynky

PHEW...thank god. I was really worried

JustinGTP

Was just going to post this, but you beat me to it. No where does it say BBM is now for other phones, people! They're allowing developers integrate with Blackberry Messenger. Yikes.

dterio

For now. It is the beginning of the end.

thornm

this is kinda sad i mean i did buy my blackberry for email and other things but also i really liked the fact that bbm was just for us blackberry users, so why should we be loyal to rim

JAYKIDD

NO BLACKBERRY! NO BBM........SHOULD NOT BE PUBLIC!

bgriff25

I can't wait until Bellshare updates BeBuzz to enable individual BBM contact notifications!!! Allthough I don't think it's what's stated here, I could care less it BBM is available to other devices. BBM is NOT the reason I will continue to be loyal to RIM.

Buzduganjr

+1
The best comment ever :) is not only about BBM is about the device ;)

coopere#CB

when i started reading i thought it was totally open, but it says for os5 and 6. (Developers also have the ability to test the exact workflow and BBM integration that they can expect to see on a live device. This is made possible by special simulators for BlackBerry smartphone OS 5.0 and 6.0. )

i think RIM still has plans on letting BBM loose over different devices. the question is "when?"

vx1

well this is real now - should be cool :)

SharpieFiend

Where does this say it's available for other platforms? Nowhere.

People need to READ the article before they attempt to comment. This is about allowing BlackBerry apps to take advantage of BBM, that's all.

apod22

regardless of what device it my be released on,
bbm will always be best on a blackberry

Tsudeily

IF YOU PEOPLE WOULD LEARN TO READ, YOU WOULD REALISE THAT THIS DOESN'T MEAN OTHER DEVICES GET BBM.

It simply means that BLACKBERRY developers can use the BBM API's in their apps to make them more social.

wow

#fail

Bla1ze

I'm pretty sure 99% never even read what t was for,

Tsudeily

I would have to agree

BBHN

Actually it's... Get er done!

XWolf

There are a lot of bandwagon morons who appear to have reading difficulty! This is a GOOD thing as means other programs will be able to do things such as file transfers via bbm - bbm allows infinite data use on your BIS - so I can send pics & vids without it comming off my data usage! Win!

This is NOT a cross platform announcement. Idiots.

KJunius

Is heavy smartphone use correlated with decreased attention spans? These comments would suggest so.............

Gmatty32

Bbm isn't gonna be crossed over to Android and iphones is it!?! PLEASE NO!

XWolf

You can't even read the comments above? Tit.

npunk42

Can imagine what this bunch of cry babies are going to say WHEN, not IF, but WHEN BBM goes multi platform? Just for fun, leave it named BBM!
If anyone has reason to leave their Blackberry to go to another phone, thats really fine. Even if they dont have a reason, its really okay.
Believe it or not there are a number of folks who have posted in the forums that they left their Android phones to use Blackberrys. Thats okay too. This isnt a club.

Duvi

If BBM is released for iPhone and/or Android (as well as others), it would be smart to keep the BlackBerry name in BBM. Why call it something else? That would definitely make people forget about BB.

Either way, it's inevitable... whether someone creates one as good (LiveProfile has potential) or they do it.

jermaine1082

OMG. "bbm is going to other phone?!?!!!!!" dear god someone put these people in 1st grade they cannot read or don't think before they speak!! or comment!

br14

BBM CANNOT WORK ON ANY OTHER PLATFORM!!!!!

Despite what may be advertised, all those other apps professing BBM features are not BBM.
BBM depends upon the BlackBerry infrastructure. This is hardware and software that is installed in the cellphone operators data centres. Only RIM has this feature in all of its carrier network and therefore only BlackBerrys can access BBM.

Other platforms can simulate BBM, by polling the network every few seconds, but then battery life deteriorates drastically to the point where you need to charge your device regularly through the day. To say nothing of your data usage going through the roof because of needless network access.

This announcement releases a large part of the BBM platform to BlackBerry developers only (part of it was available before). But key parts related to use privacy are still protected by RIM so they haven't given that much away.

It's possible a developer could use the access to create a gateway to other services but since every message sent requires user approval it wouldn't be very user friendly.

There is no way RIM in its current form would ever release BBM to other platforms. Unless you hear it from the mouth of Mike Lazirids or Jim Balsillie - it isn't true.

zensen

here's hoping app devs don't abuse the api and we get spammed!

e.g jared company and his email spam.

njgsregal

this is bad for those of us that don't want that social network crap. Those of us that keep our every trip away from our house off the internet for all to see. Can't say I am happy. BBM used to be a nice secure way to chat with friends. I don't want to be linked into a social network. That is why I refuse all invites from all social networks. Please RIM stop the insanity before it starts. BBM is a great clean secure chat protocol for you and your friends. Keep it that way. Stop the hooks. I don't want to know when my buddy is taking a **** this is what we should be upset about.

HipPo13

++1,000,000,000,000,000,000

DGriffy

sigh ppl really cant read cant they

Monsieur

Greetings to all
hmmm is it just me or are the comments on here saying many of you do not fully understand the information in this post? this has nothing to do with cross-platform BBM and everything to do with getting developers to ad new features to BBM and also having their app integrate with BBM
thank you for listening

rkosowsky

Seriously, if any of you dumb people actually read the article, you'd realize it has nothing to do with BBM coming to iOS or Android. RIM is simply giving developers the ability to use BBM as their platform when writing social apps.

squirble

LOL I read the article and then the comments and was thinking the same thing. You should read the article and not just the headline people.

On a side note, I find it very funny when people say that BBM is the ONLY reason they own a blackberry.

Ano Hito

Cool, I'm curious if RIM will have any native games linked to BBM since that was one of their key points for the new BBMS...

I am anxious to see what developers come up with.

dannyd86

The only thing I would wants is to expand the "what I'm listening to" feature of bbm. So it can show what I'm listening to on tune-in radio, slacker radio, youtube etc.

foxywilli

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foxywilli

Hi peeps just wanna think some one should put up A̶̲̥̅ social site for all of us to chat and keep life going. Here is my pin if you wanna chat 21a11574

foxywilli

Hi peeps just wanna think some one should put up A̶̲̥̅ social site for all of us to chat and keep life going. Here is my pin if you wanna chat 21a11574