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BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 - Quick List of New Features

by Adam Zeis on 20 Jul 2009 04:54 PM
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Layout

Over the weekend it seems like everyone dropped what they were doing and installed the leaked BlackBerry Messenger 5.0. There were some ups and downs over the last few days - some server issues or installation problems - but most seem to be resolved now.  Lets take a quick look at some of the new features in BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 below and roundup some of the most popular forum discussion links.

New Layout

Obviously one of the biggest changes is the new layout/UI (image at top of post). The look has been totally overhauled. You now have the ability to add avatars to users as well. 

Broadcast Message

With the new Broadcast Message feature, you can send the same message to multiple contacts all at once. You simply enter the message, select the contacts to receive it and send away. 

Broadcast Message

 

Backup/Restore Contact List

In my opinion one of the best features is the ability to backup and restore your contact list. You can choose to backup the list to your device memory or media card, and restoring it is just a few clicks away.

Backup Contacts

 

User Options

The new user options screen allows you to edit your avatar,  change your status, edit location options and more.

Profile

 

Add Contacts & Barcodes

Adding contacts is easier than before (way easier). You can still add a contact via PIN or email, but now you also have to option of scanning their barcode. Each user is assigned a unique barcode that allows others to easily add to BlackBerry Messenger.

Barcodes

Linking Contacts

You now have the option to link contacts to your address book. The allows you to sync up your contact information with the user in your BlackBerry Messenger contacts, syncing the PIN, avatar and other info.

Linking Contacts

Recent Updates

Clicking the Recent Updates bar on the top of the contact list shows your contacts recent activity, who was added, updated status etc.

Recent Updates

 

There are other features as well like new emoticons, chat history and most likely some we missed. This is just a quick list of the biggest features of BlackBerry Messenger 5.0. Drop a note in the comments and let us know what we missed.

If you are having trouble with the new BlackBerry Messenger and need to uninstall, check out this forum thread: For those that want old BBM, here's how..

Popular Forum Discussions:


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76 Comments

Posted by vlkers7171 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

when is threaded sms gonna be incorporated...?...haha....COME ON :-\

 
 
Posted by Kevin Michaluk Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

hopefully the final version will have it. can't really cast full judgement on this baby till it's officially released.  pleassssssssssse may it have threaded sms though (or just a new sms app altogether.) been running around chicago lately mr. vlk?? :)

 
 
Posted by vlkers7171 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

well that was my bro featured in the film...i was the man behind the camera (thanks for everything by the way)...ive been running around the suburbs..not chicago...haha

 
 
Posted by vlkers54 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

Hahaha! I was made aware of you giving me a little shout out on here so I'd thought I'd pop on a respond. Lots of running around the burbs and Chicago, but the shirt has been staying on...that is, until the next WWYDFABB Storm2 Contest :)

 
 
Posted by thisIsBoom Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

threaded sms is probably implemented in other parts of 5.0, which is why it doesnt work with just bbm. 5.0 will be here soon, hopefully, i'm ready

 
 
Posted by GILPAULSEN Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

I am really into the new bbm , no problems like the new look

 
 
Posted by PlayaX01 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

so um when is the official BBM 5.0 coming? cause im ready

 
 
Posted by skimla Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

if your BBM is set up to blink the LED every time a message is received, there is a minor annoyance where if you do not apply focus to the new message and instead enter a message, the yellow arrow on the previous message does not turn clear and LED keeps blinking forever until another message comes from your friend and you apply the focus.

 
 
Posted by skimla Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

does it use the camera?

 
 
Posted by AisforAustin Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

Yes it does.

 
 
Posted by Teddyp6 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

I am loving the new BBM! Just a few minor problems with it stalling but besides that, seems to be working fine. I am sure the official version will be even better.

 
 
Posted by mauro99 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

why i cant see the pictures

 
 
Posted by stayfly Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

yeah i like it i just wished that the avatar would show with people who arent your contact. Like regular people on your bbm thats not on your contact list.

 
 
Posted by vlozano06 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

you can add your picture to your profile, so i'm assuming when everyone has 5.0 you'll see their pics if they assign one.

 
 
Posted by KMerrick2 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

where is the recent update section shown above? i don't see it on my BBM 5.0. Using storm 9530

 
 
Posted by he11fire Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

It only shows up if there have actually been updates. Have one of your contacts temporarily change their display name and then change it back. It'll show up on your end as a "Recent Update". Once you clear them it goes away until you get another one.

 
 
Posted by nubackstop35 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

how do i get the cool "bb" characters? whats the prompt for that?

 
 
Posted by GentMAB Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

I like the new features especially the barcode scanner cause it shows that the camera on bb is capable of doign alot more than what is already available to it

 
 
Posted by scorpio1973 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

I also have a Storm running .148 and I don't see the recent update bar either. Hmmmm. . . .Any thoughts?

 
 
Posted by Xopher Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

The recent update bar only shows up when there are recent updates! If there is nothing new going on, then it won't show up.

Have a friend change their status and you should see the bar show up.

 
 
Posted by eve6er69 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

i donno i guess i am a fan of the old one.
it looks more like threaded sms and the new 5.0 seems to lag alot with me and sending messages.
i think i am going back to the old one again, i had no gripe against it

 
 
Posted by snowboarder61 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

You can put your buddy's status on your home screen with an icon... It shows if they are away or available... pretty cool i would say!

 
 
Posted by wojtas25 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

When I change status to Busy, BBM still ringing. In older version of BBM the sound was silent, anyone with this issue?

Also, in adress book is showing status (like in GTalk, Yahoo messenger etc).

 
 
Posted by CrackberryBold Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

How many of you had success with BBM 5.0 on the lovely Tour?

 
 
Posted by cesar.d Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

new emoticons are ugly as fuck!

 
 
Posted by atorres920 Friday, Jul 24, 2009 933 days ago

i agree! they look so fake and dull....i had downloaded it and then i deleted it and put the old bbm back =]

 
 
Posted by y0us3f Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

DPs doesnt work for me ..

alot of bugs , sometimes messages doesnt arrive to the receiver only after 15 mins maybe ..

barcode didnt work ..

 
 
Posted by rimbuk Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

im uploading my barcode to facebook. That way, people can just add me on there. easy, right?

 
 
Posted by Adiliyo Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

@crackberrybold

works great on my tour, i can't wait for the rest of 5.0

 
 
Posted by cheech92007 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

One of the happiest BB days in my life :p

 
 
Posted by MontFuji Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

Spell Check is functional! That's what I'm talking, err, texting about!

 
 
Posted by WhoolioPreludee Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

When you send a pic you can either send the whole pic or only part of it by cropping it. Very nice feature

 
 
Posted by cbresciani Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

Has anybody else noticed this? On my Storm I usually have an average discharge rate of somewhere between 0.5% and 1.5% per hour depending on what I'm doing but with the new BBM it's running at about 4.5% per hour! Fully charged battery this morning and 8 hours later I'm down to 58%. I hope this isn't something that is going to happen with the official release!

 
 
Posted by speedyV Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

I have noticed a massive battery drain suddenly, half way through my day I am down to 40% when I am usually at 80%. I hope its not due to the BBM 5.0 I really like it but I'm not sure.

 
 
Posted by pmich Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

It absolutely is... i barely get through 8 hrs now with the new bbm.. i use to get a day no problem. I'm deciding on whether or not to uninstall it, but i just love the new features..

 
 
Posted by jakeboyer11 Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009 935 days ago

did you "Disable Location/Proximity Requests"?
If you open BBM 5.0 and hit your BB button and choose Options, in the Locations section you can disable Location which would stop you from broadcasting your location and using GPS on your phone which in turn could be killing your battery. Give that a try and see if it works.

 
 
Posted by cbresciani Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009 935 days ago

I think, I may have had that turned on! It's off now for sure, I'll see if that helps.

 
 
Posted by kev-bodian Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

I cannot wait till the 5.0 comes out!

 
 
Posted by benji123 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

No mention of QR-Code scanning? That's got to be the single coolest new feature. While you can click on "Add a Contact" and then "Scan invitation barcode from another Blackberry" to add someone to your Contacts, you also use that scanning feature to scan a nearly infinite amount of QR-Codes (see http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ to create your own), or advanced bar codes that can contain phone numbers, web addresses, predefined text messages and text strings.

 
 
Posted by six4seven Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

Can't wait for this one to be official!

 
 
Posted by yzerman1978 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

could some one tell me what "threaded SMS" actually is. i hear the term used alot, but i have no idea what it actually is or does. thanks

 
 
Posted by frunkiss Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

If you use UberTwitter it will make @usernames links automatically inside BBM 5.0.
By clicking on a username you can get their timeline or follow/unfollow. Pretty nifty way of integrating the two.

 
 
Posted by JuicyAmari Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

That feature is available in the old BBM if you have UberTwitter installed on your device.

 
 
Posted by Zgalicki Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

this would be great to have

 
 
Posted by hrg0891 Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

If you use the bar code scanner on the image of the bar code supplied by the post, the phone recognizes it and opens the bb browser to xkcd.com!

 
 
Posted by Storm_Warning Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

I'll take a copy with an order of fries! Thanks!

 
 
Posted by graymulligan Monday, Jul 20, 2009 936 days ago

I've tried to stick with 5.0 for a while now, but I'm going back to 4.7. 5.0 is laggy, and just flat out doesn't work all the time, which is sort of the point of BBM.

 
 
Posted by AREK28 Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009 936 days ago

Does anybody know whether there is any difference between the BBM 5.0.8 and the BBM 5.0?

I noticed there are two different versions floating around?

I've been hearing that the delivering problem has been solved, can anybody confirm this?

 
 
Posted by graymulligan Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009 936 days ago

delivery issues last night, around midnight...messages arriving in the wrong order, or not arriving at all. had 2 convos going, one with someone on 5.0, and one with someone on 4.5, neither worked well.

 
 
Posted by forkup Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009 935 days ago

I think you're confusing Blackberry Messenger 5.0 and Blackberry Desktop Manager 5.0.0.8.

forkup

 
 
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