News & Rumors

Press Release: RIM Delivers Revolutionary Social App Experience with BBM 6

by Bla1ze

on 28 Jul 2011 12:01 AM

103

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

With over 45 Million users and 2 Million new users on a daily basis -- RIM has created something special when it comes to BlackBerry Messenger. Over the past few years, we've watched BBM go from what was once a pretty basic instant messaging system to a full blown social application and now with the introduction of BlackBerry Messenger 6 today, combined with the availability of the BBM Social Platform SDK for developers, BlackBerry Messenger is ready for the next level.

Press Release

RIM Delivers Revolutionary Social App Experience with BBM 6

Apps become social experiences once users can interact with their BBM friends

Waterloo, ON - BBM™ (BlackBerry® Messenger), one of the largest mobile social networks in the world is now enabling a new and revolutionary social experience. Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced the availability of BBM version 6 (BBM 6), which provides support for "BBM connected" apps, allowing users to easily interact with each other from within the BBM connected app.

BBM connected apps integrate the popular functionality of the BBM service and offer users the ability to interact with their friends from within the app itself. For example, with a BBM connected game app, users can invite their BBM friends to join them in a game and then chat with one another in real time while the game is being played – without ever leaving the game.

BBM 6 launches today and a selection of BBM connected apps are already available on BlackBerry App World™.

“BBM 6 marks the beginning of an even greater social experience for BlackBerry smartphone users,” said Alistair Mitchell, VP, BBM Platform & Integrated Services at Research In Motion. “It also represents an incredible opportunity for developers to leverage the viral nature of the BBM service and we have already begun working with various developer partners who will be bringing their BBM connected apps to BlackBerry App World this week, offering users highly engaging app experiences.”

Some of the additional functionality users can expect to see with BBM connected applications include the ability to:

Share app experiences with friends - When a user discovers a great new BBM connected app, they can instantly let their friends know about it. Users can simply select a BBM contact directly within the BBM connected app they are using.
Have a BBM chat within apps -Users can simply pull up their BBM contact list directly from within the BBM connected app and start chatting. For example, the functionality can enable everything from enhanced social game play to collaboration through productivity apps.
Discover apps through friends – Users can also discover new apps by viewing the list of apps that are posted to a BBM friend’s profile. They can also click on an app within the list, and instantly download it from BlackBerry App World.

The BBM 6 software will be available later today at www.blackberry.com/blackberrymessenger. A selection of BBM connected apps will also be posted on BlackBerry App World this week, with many more expected over the coming months.

Quotes/Partner Highlights:

"One of the keys to viral game sales is to allow users to easily invite their friends to join them in playing the games they love,” said Keith Pichelman, CEO, Concrete Software. “Integrating BBM into Pocket Ants has allowed the game to do just that." - Concrete Software

"RIM is a fantastic partner. We're thrilled to be working with them to provide a better experience to millions of foursquare users around the world by integrating foursquare with BBM," said Holger Luedorf, VP of Mobile and Partnerships for foursquare. - Foursquare

“The Huffington Post, a leader in implementing social features to reach and interact with its network of readers and bloggers, integrates the BlackBerry Social Platform to create a place where our users can continue to engage in up-to-the-minute news stories, blogs, and analysis,” said Paul Berry, CTO of the Huffington Post Media Group. “As a BBM connected app, we make it simple for our readers to easily share and discuss the news. BBM 6 allows The Huffington Post to continue to reach its audience in a new way when they are on the go, and without having to compromise on the quality of their experience." - Huffington Post

“Unvired Workflow for SAP enables approval of SAP workflow requests directly from the BlackBerry smartphone. Unvired leverages the BlackBerry message list and BBM to provide a familiar BlackBerry user experience,” said Srinivasan Subramanian, CEO, Indience InfoSystems Pvt Ltd. “The BBM platform has been smartly integrated to enable employees to collaborate seamlessly. If the user has some queries while approving the workflow, they can BBM their colleague or Manager, transfer a screenshot of the workflow item and clarify. They can then approve or reject the workflow request. The BBM chat can also be emailed to maintain an audit trail. The BBM integration with Unvired ensures quick turnaround and collaboration between employees, not just for workflow but other usages like checking discounts for a customer,escalating a customer grievance and much more.” - Indience InfoSystems Pvt Ltd

“Jingu users are engaging with BlackBerry Messenger in an exciting new way,” said Pankaj Gogia, Founder, Jingu Apps. “With BBM 6, ease of use is greatly enhanced with capabilities like updating your BBM profile picture directly from within the application. Jingu is dedicated to creating social networking applications built on the BlackBerry Messenger Social Platform that leverage the new capabilities of BBM 6 and bring enriched and vastly immersive experiences to end users.” - Jingu Apps

“Players have always been able to play Backgammon King against real opponents but playing against your friends took a lot of time and effort,” said Troy Johnson, Director Strategic Initiatives, Magmic. “Your BBM contacts are your friends and BBM 6 is making it incredibly easy to share Backgammon King with them and invite them to play in real-time. The ease of access to our product, the ease of sharing and the ease of player engagement are each major
breakthroughs. Combine those attributes of BBM 6 with Magmics' industry leading in-game chat design and you have an incredibly entertaining experience. Trash talking your best friend over a game of backgammon has never been easier and more fun. It's no exaggeration to say, for Backgammon King, BBM 6 is a real game changer.” - Magmic

“PowWow uses BBM 6 integration to enable real time social event coordination,” said Kathryn Lahrs, Founder, Lahrs Apps. “Users are directly invited and notified of events that are created with our application. With PowWow, the latest information is available and BBM chats can quickly be started if any further communication is desired. Through BBM 6 PowWow users can share their location information, which is displayed in BlackBerry Maps. There is also an option
to check your contact's availability directly from their calendars and to create an event with this information; this is a very useful tool in event planning and saves time in the process.” - PowWow

“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t immediately react to the 'chime' of BBM,” said Margaret Glover-Campbell, VP Marketing & PR of Poynt Corporation. “Being able to leverage BBM 6 to share search results provides a tremendous advantage to our BlackBerry smartphone user base who can now easily and quickly coordinate their social activities. The ability to share the app download directly within BBM is also exciting for us, given the immediacy and viral nature of the platform. From a development perspective, we see tremendous possibilities for future
integration around connecting people while they’re on the go.” - Poynt

“Following sports is inherently social – fans are extremely passionate, and like to trash talk, comment, and generally share their opinions on whatever they’re watching,” says Dale Fallon, VP Digital Products, Score Media. “By integrating BBM 6 functionality right into the ScoreMobile experience, we enable our users to enjoy the game with their friends even when they’re not together. In a nutshell, BBM 6 integration allows sports fans to be social without
having to leave the ScoreMobile app.” - ScoreMedia

Telmap, a global location-based services leader, is very focused on serving all users’ needs by constantly enriching and optimizing their on-the-go experiences,” said Motti Kushnir, Telmap Chief Marketing Officer. “The integration between BBM 6 and the Telmap Mobile Location Companion significantly enriches conversations and interactions through BBM with users’ real time locations. Telmap views this integration as an important pillar of our vision to provide a richer, more comprehensive experience to our users. We work hard to integrate our application
with popular and useful platforms like BBM, to ensure added value to users who can now add location information to their interactions with friends." - Telemap

"BBM 6 is the underlying mobile social network making Wikitude on the BlackBerry platform a very unique experience. An augmented reality (AR) browser with millions of interesting places is already a very compelling and new proposition, but bringing it to life with millions of people who can chat, meet and share in an AR environment has the potential to revolutionize how we interact with one another. With BBM 6 and Wikitude preloaded on upcoming BlackBerry smartphones our AR browser will be truly going social for the very first time," says Andy Gstoll, CMO of Wikitude. - Wikitude

Opportunities for BBM App Developers:

BBM app developers can submit their applications to the BlackBerry Partners Fund Developer Challenge. The competition for social apps – "Most Addictive Social apps using BBM Social Platform" – is now open for submissions until September 23, 2011. For more information please visit: www.blackberrypartnersfund.com/challenge.

More BBM connected apps ideas will be showcased at the BBM Apps Hackathon in New York City, August 11-12, 2011, where developers that won the Hackathon qualifying contest will gather for a two day coding marathon. Additional information about the winners and the Hackathon are available at: http://www.bbmnyc.com/05_winning.html

Quick Links:

BBM 6 download on BlackBerry App World - https://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/3729
BBM web site: www.blackberry.com/blackberrymessenger

BBM connected apps videos:

Wikitude: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bmqN3DZC5c
Score Mobile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtbOUMoTPHU
FourSquare: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqdJLCLvhoY

BBM Social Platform SDK for developers: http://www.blackberry.com/developer/bbm

About Research In Motion

Research In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. Today, BlackBerry products and services are used by millions of customers around the world to stay connected to the people and content that matter most throughout their day. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. RIM is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange
(TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

Filed Under: News & Rumors; Tags: BBM Connected, BlackBerry Messenger, press release, RIM

103 Comments

Posted by jonlm Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Great let's see if it's better than th Beta 6.0.0.111

Posted by shabbs Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Agreed. Every BBM6 beta I've tried has been pig dog slow on my 9700 and not a very enjoyable experience. I've always rolled back to BBM5.

Posted by ifarlow Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Pig dog slow? How slow is that? Heck... what does that even mean?

*sigh*

Why do people just throw words together with no thought to how much sense it makes just to try and make a point? That's so shoe apple strange!

Posted by shabbs Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Heh. Pig dog slow is just my way of saying annoyingly slow. Were you hoping for a scientific qualifier? Sorry to disappoint.

Been using it this morning and there do seem to be issues when typing messages and not having them show up in the BBM Group chat. Not too impressed so far.

Posted by ifarlow Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Just poking fun. Nothing more.

As far as BBM goes, I was hoping to see better initial reviews. While I recently left BlackBerry for "greener" pastures, I am eagerly awaiting the 9900 for a return to the fold. I don't use BBM much, but when I do, I would like it to work well.

Maybe by the time the 9900 lands, BBM will be working smoother?

*shrug*

Posted by shabbs Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Let's hope so. I'll give this a good spin before I decide to roll back.

We're all waiting for the 9900...

Posted by the brother Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 301 days ago

a week before we get os7 devices announced we see BBM 6. when is BBM 7 coming out lol...this one is not that impressive. remember how unique BBM 5 was from BBM 4? sure it evolved and there was a HUGE hiccuup in the Christmas of 2009 which had diehards screaming bloody Jesus... but that's the kind of innovation we need!

also, how do we get in touch with developers of our favourite apps to request integration features? i would love to send a movie showtime to a contact via Poynt! ya know??!?! i got lots of ideas....WeatherEye, Cineplex, TSN, The Sun, CBC, etc

Posted by JasonM. Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

First FB 2.0 now BBM 6? Wow RIM, guess all it takes is some cloudy weeks and the wheels start spinning! Oh yeah, and FIRST!

Posted by JasonM. Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Fine... 2nd. So close though.

Posted by Zizzzzy Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Who knows, they may be purposely holding back releases of finished products because they know they have to keep the buzz going for more than a day or two or it will just get clouded over by viral negativity that's current. Android leak, facebook 2.0, then BBM 6, and we have yet to see if anything extra is to come at Fan Night this week.

This may be the start of a steady stream of "things that are going to make us go SWEEEET" :)

Posted by JasonM. Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

It would be nice if the goodness keeps coming. I think they realize they need to raise their quality bar so hopefully the beta zone feedback will help their release version. In the past, BBM upgrades have had some catastrophic outages so hopefully this rollout goes smoothly!

I am pretty tired of the negativity in the media too... I hope the "RIM needs to take a page out of Apples book" stops some time soon. People need to realize that RIM makes Blackberrys, they do not make iPods, PC's, desktop operating systems, TV devices, routers, etc. RIM is not as big of a company as people think. Unfortunately when you grow at the rate they did, you get fat up top. I think they can turn things around, they just need people to get excited about the platform again. They'll do this by giving developers good tools and not "deprecated api error". Good things are coming, they need to.

Posted by rcm1301 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Crackberry. Can you please introduce a rule to ban users for a month from comments when they are soooo CHILDISH with their first, second statements!
Especially those arseholes who thinks they are first, only to be second.
JasonM, you're a fool!

Posted by ifarlow Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Only problem is that CrackBerry "staff" have made those same "first" comments recently. Should they ban themselves, or should they take the stance "do as I say, not as I do?"

Posted by JasonM. Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 301 days ago

Well I suppose I can't argue that, I am in fact a fool. I did however precede my "FIRST" with a bit of sarcasm and some legitimate banter. Your entire post was just bitching and you're probably an Irishman with that "arsehole" in there. Why don't you do yourself a favor and slam down 11 warm guinness' and blow it out your arse? :)

Posted by rcm1301 Friday, Jul 29, 2011 301 days ago

Whatever, especially if it makes a fool happy.

Posted by Rootbrian Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 301 days ago

Just started downloading it via the website. Screw appworld XD

Posted by babuhs Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Is it just me or do those links lead to v5.0.3.22?

Posted by JasonM. Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

"later today"

Posted by babuhs Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Yeah, I saw that too but the "Download BBM 6" button on the BBM homepage got my hopes up

Posted by sahil123 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

The link works fine. If you can't download from your PC then open AppWorld on your BB. Press Alt + R + S + T. Open it again, then search for BlacBerry Messenger. You should see the updated version there ^^.

If everything fails, then wait till evening and give the servers some time to roll out the update in your country.

Posted by alrpedro Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

This works! Time to download. Thanks!

Posted by djfawbz Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

yeah the link takes me to 5.03.22 as well... not kool

Posted by JasonM. Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

"The BBM 6 software will be available later today at www.blackberry.com/blackberrymessenger." It will be available later today, as indicated.

Posted by djfawbz Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

...actually I got the link... checking it out now =D

Posted by jhamal242 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

how about sharing it!

Posted by jiatern Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Showing 5.0.3.22 too... Am using 6.0.0.111, I hope the open release will fix the scrolling lag in group chat...

Posted by SC457 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

6.0.0.111 is in the beta zone right now.

Posted by JAGWIRE Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

great news!!!! just goes to show you that RIM is not out for the count just yet.

Posted by jaya_man Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

+1. Keeping a close eye on appworld and bb website.

Posted by BerryPotter Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

"With over 45 Million users and 2 Million new users on a daily basis".... So RIM will have 775 million BBM users a year from now?!?

Posted by guerllamo7 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Awesome. RIMM may be down but they are not out.

Posted by peter.d Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

I just downloaded 6.0.0.125 off blackberry app world, but i had to do it online through the link above. i used https://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/3729 ...logged in and upgraded no problem. For some reason when i tried to get it off app world from my BB bold it didn't recognize it.

Posted by artie Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Downloading right now........

Posted by somebodysomeone Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

it's up! downloading version 6.0.0125 from the link in the article

Posted by sk8er_tor Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

It's now available on blackberry.com/bbm

Posted by jonlm Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

HEY!!! People get BBM 6.0.0.125 from
blackberry.com/messenger
Enjoy, hope is as great as I expect.

Posted by jaya_man Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

downloading now....hope nothing goes wrong...fingers crossed

Posted by Takhis Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

for me the link is showing 5.0.3.22 even if their webpage says BBM6

Posted by lyricidal Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Some OTAs for those that aren't seeing it yet:
http://bb-h.me/bbm125os6
http://bb-h.me/bbm125os5

Posted by Lovesherbb1915 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Finally up for me! Went to blackberry.com/blackberrymessenger and it's up. :) Downloading now.

Posted by raiderfan Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

by the way......Poynt 1.8 is showing up too............BBM integration?

Posted by Revyrah Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Downloading 6.0.0.125 easily. Had the beta version previously, so maybe that's what's causing some folks a problem downloading. I'd say make sure they have the latest from app world and then try to download this one.

Posted by Birddog2 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

getting it now. 6.0.0.125 tried several places but finally went to ca.Blackberry.com then followed the link to the BBM6 page and on the left hand column clicked get BBM6. Enter email and got link to 6.0.0.125

Posted by RAWRzBBftw Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

It's up! :)

Posted by technique-1 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

why can't later be now?...oh well bring it on :)

Posted by ifarlow Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Dark Helmet: What the Hell am I looking at?! When does this happen in the movie?!
Col. Sandurz: Now! You're looking at "now," sir. Everything that happens now is happening "now."
Dark Helmet: What happened to "then?"
Col. Sandurz: We passed it.
Dark Helmet: When?
Col. Sandurz: Just now. We're at now "now."
Dark Helmet: Go back to "then."
Col. Sandurz: When?
Dark Helmet: Now.
Col. Sandurz: Now?!
Dark Helmet: Now!
Col. Sandurz: I can't.
Dark Helmet: Why?
Col. Sandurz: We missed it.
Dark Helmet: When?
Col. Sandurz: Just now.
Dark Helmet: When will "then" be "now?"
Col. Sandurz: Soon.

Posted by BlackScorpion3 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

and one more ota http://bit.ly/qVfD26

Posted by 3Dee Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Anyone use this within any apps yet? Any thoughts about compatible apps?

Posted by 3Dee Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Update - list of compatible apps available here: http://blogs.blackberry.com/2011/07/bbm-6/

Posted by Revyrah Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

So far, I've only used it with FourSquare and ScoreMobile for status updates and location. I have to find a game that works with this. Hopefully WordRival permits it instead of the weak onboard chat system it has.

Posted by djek500 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

just downloaded and installed BBM 6 (6.0.0.125). But cannot find " Show What I'm Listening To" on My profile. does anyone have the same problem?

Posted by Heavens1 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

No - Show what I'm listening to seems to have been removed.

Posted by eKafara Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Downloaded it. Phone turned into a brick. But nothing a battery pull can't fix : )

Posted by ELoXL Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

I'm experiencing a brick issue as well with constant reboots and a white screen flashing as soon as the boot bar goes three quarts of the way through.

I've done a million battery pulls and still no luck. At this rate it looks like I'm hoping my Verizon insurance covers software installations.

Has your phone recovered from it's brick state?

Posted by Revyrah Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Yeah. I'm missing it too.

Posted by Heavens1 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

I'm in Australia and I downloaded 6 OTA smoothly - worked straight off and sent BBMs out .....

Still looking through it - maybe some menu changes non app related as well ....

Posted by doubleaa25 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

U can't show what ur listening to anymore :/ I liked that feature

Posted by ip.amps Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

yeah just noticed that feature was gone! why they didnt include it in the latest version? whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy??????!!!!!!!!

Posted by jnmnml Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

i couldn't stand the buggy beta version. i hope all our feedback help to solve some issues!
Let's give it a try
:D

Posted by z4netti Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Some say it'll take up 4.3 MB of space, up 1.3 MB from the 5.0.0.3.22. I kinda doubt it'll be able to run on my 9000. Even if it does run, I probably wouldn't have much space left.

Posted by mnhockeycoach99 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

z4netti - I'm rocking a Bold 9000 as well... I installed the newest version of BBM this morning and it works great. Granted, I don't have very many apps on my phone because I was sick of lockups and soft reboots.

Posted by Biulet Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

I feel like I have a new and refreshed BB... with Twitter 2.0, Foursquare 3.0, Facebook 2.0 and now BBM 6.0 all is integrated and everything works fine and faster than before.

Only thing... I wonder if now they will do the same with the PlayBook cause it NEEDS all this Apps to be a Super Tablet!

Posted by EraticKnight Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

The shitties part is the music updates being excluded!!???????

Posted by Siiid Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

downloading on my dying 9000

Posted by isherleh Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

GetGlue should be part of this

Posted by CrackberryBrandon Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

this is their last great push to keep consumers along with this new line release hope it works so we can get some better products for RIM.

Posted by samsams Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Everything installed and connected like it should be but Foursquare check-ins are not showing in BBM. Anyone else having this problem? And how to resolve it?

Posted by DrewDT Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

These new features sound fine but nothing revolutionary unless BBM goes cross platform. Otherwise is severely restricts who I can use it with.

Posted by jlb21 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Do you have to be on OS6+ for this BBM?

Posted by dboutic617 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

I have a Curve 8520 on OS5 and BBM 6 works just fine!

Posted by carrickfergus Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

I don't see any major changes.

Posted by MikeSuede Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Same here. I just went BBM 5 to BBM 6 and i see no changes.

Posted by tshrjain Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Dont see much changes, but as i read, integrated apps and games, Foursquare asked to integrate with bbm, phone's restarting now, hope the changes is good.

Posted by stranger99 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

"45 million users, and 2 million additional on a daily basis" doesn't add up. So you're telling me that in a month there will be 100 million users??

I'm a BB fanboy but get real.

Posted by nighthawks Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

no cross platform support?
I was waiting for that.

Posted by ciscobear Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

BBM is not only socially enabled, it is fast as a bat out of hell. Icon refresh and did I say fast? Group convos run like normal convos now. This is a much needed update. Excellent RIM!

Noticing some other small updates in the proggie as well.

Posted by alexkinsella Friday, Jul 29, 2011 300 days ago

Hi @ciscobear,

Alex from RIM here. Glad you like what you’re seeing from BBM 6!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out this recent post on our Inside BlackBerry Blog, where you can watch a couple of demo videos showing off foursquare and ScoreMobile apps integrating with BBM 6: http://bbry.lv/pK3ekd. Give them a watch and then let us know what you think – either here, on Twitter (@BlackBerry) or on Facebook (http://bbry.lv/bdmrXv).

Cheers,
Alex, RIM Social Media Team

Posted by ELoXL Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

BBM6 just bricked the hell out of my Storm 2! Yeah, it is a Storm 2, but none the less a BlackBerry!

The boot screen will go as far as three quarters of the way through and for two seconds a white screen flashes and all I can make out of it is "JAVA", the rest of the text is gibberish, and then it just reboots itself going through the same three quarters cycle.

I installed the app from AppWorld and rebooted as requested and now I'm in this mess.

Am I able at all to reinstall my last good backup without having my phone boot all the way into the OS or do I need to pay Verizon a visit today - shit, does anyone know if the VZ insurance cover software installations?

Posted by Dammerung2010 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 301 days ago

You can wipe out your phone with BBSAK and reinstall the OS from scratch using Desktop Manager. Then restore your latest backup from Desktop Manager.

Posted by the brother Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

at 4440kb, this is no longer a 'lightweight' native app, is it?!?! i'm not venting...cuz i'm fine on my torch but i feel for my contacts running os4.x-5.x! i wood NOT recommend they try to upgrade. hell, thos ppl on 4.x and some 5.xx BB's don't even have enough internal space to run app world! lol.

but congrats if u were able to install - seems like there is a lot of eastern traffic here on the app servers in n america as we begin a fruitful work day. #BB4Life #BBM6ftw

wish me luck, CB nation!

Posted by ciscobear Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

My OS5 friends are quite happy with the update. Will try it on an OS4.5 phone next month.

Posted by ikennaezento Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Shitt!!! I hate this BBM6

Posted by kevinchi Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

so i gues it will be only available for bb with os 6

Posted by nove Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

No Sir, you guessed wrong. It's a great upgrade.

Posted by GeorgeRussos Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

What most people need to come to terms with is that RIM's target group is not fashion victims, it's a category that seems to be in extinction nowadays; those who actually see their phone as a tool.

Posted by ciscobear Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Agreed but unfortunately that is where the huge market is. Ppl who want phones to match their handbag and shoes and have no clue that you send email from the phone :)

Posted by roseannecres Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

Help! upgraded to version 6 and can no longer access BB groups functions. Getting error message - "uncaught exception: invalid BBM cod version" . . . anyone with similar experience? How do I go back to version 5?

Posted by npunk42 Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

I just searched Blackberry Messenger in App World and it was there.

Posted by Abrante Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 302 days ago

BBM adding 2 million users a day? or losing 2 million users a day? from my experience the cliche on my BBM friends list for the past year has been " bye bye BBM" followed by their phone number.

Posted by mckillio Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 301 days ago

Wait, so the new BBM6 gives apps BBM integration and RIM doesn't put it in the new FB app? (correct me if I'm wrong)

Posted by toyanucci Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 301 days ago

Can't send people's bbm pic to other bbm contacts anymore...I hate that!!!

OH well, screencapture apps for the win *rolling eyes*

Posted by italianstylzzz Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 301 days ago

Until bbm is capable of having real time video chat, it wont be something to brag about. My prediction, apples imessage will do it way before RIM does, and as a result that will be the demise of RIM

Posted by Decebal Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 301 days ago

I did a OTA installation/upgrade on my Verizon 9650 and had no luck (got the 6.0.0125 version). The app shows to be installed yet will not open/work - icon is not showing anywhere! uninstalled it and tried again through my PC - no luck :( What am I missing? I am running the latest official BB OS - thanks

Posted by ZeeSl Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 301 days ago

I have exact same issue (AT&T Torch 9800, latest SW version - 6.0.0.600). Now running "core applications update" via BB Desktop Software. Maybe that will help.

Posted by Decebal Friday, Jul 29, 2011 301 days ago

Thanks a lot! I downgraded back to the previous version and at least I have my BBM working again!! Either I did something wrong at first, or maybe RIM has got to release apps/upgrades that simply work from get go! My kids with their iOS, find NO reason whatsoever to even contemplate a BB in the future :(

Posted by katiepea Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 301 days ago

revolutionary? sure bbm is good i won't debate that, i'd like to have it on my android phone honestly, however, after watching the way WP7 messages with social networks and IM's everything else is looking archaic, especially iOS and BBOS, looking forward to QNX hopefully introducing exciting things, but really, it seems to be chasing stuff that's already outdated, like iOS and Android.

Posted by MarioMakaveli Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 301 days ago

Anyone know how I can downgrade back to bbm 5.0.3.22? I'm having serious problems with this version.

Posted by Decebal Friday, Jul 29, 2011 301 days ago

Using the BB desktop manager, I first deleted/removed the new version, which was not working for me, and then was offered the choice of re-installing the previous version. It worked! That much for jumping on an "upgrade".....

Posted by espitia Thursday, Jul 28, 2011 301 days ago

wow. if RIM executes this project correctly it will go very far.

Posted by Firewalker Friday, Jul 29, 2011 301 days ago

Just upgraded to BBM 6 on my Torch 9800 from Telus. Turned my phone into a brick. All it does is reboot now. Can't even log into my phone to delete it and because it reboots I can't even connect it to my computer to use Desktop Manager because by the time Desktop Manager connects to my Torch, the phones already rebooting so it drops the connection. How do I get this thing off my phone!!!!

Is anyone else having this issue?