Some of the people I want to stay in touch with are on Android and iPhone instead of BlackBerry. I don't want to resort to SMS, I want the power of instant messaging, what can I do? What's the best option?

One of the most popular features that has many flocking to, and staying with, the BlackBerry platform is BlackBerry Messenger. One of the best parts of BBM is having real-time confirmation when your BlackBerry to BlackBerry instant messages are successfully delivered and read. BBM is all about reliability in communication and the power of knowledge. Once that ‘R’ pops up, in your mind you know that you should expect a prompt reply...hopefully. It’s not just a single letter from the alphabet that has me hooked – it’s how many options BBM gives me. Ever since BlackBerry messenger first came out, it made a strong case of being forever superior to text messaging. I can add contacts to my network, use the personalization options I have to let my network know who I am and what I’m thinking or even make use of BBM connected applications to be more social while playing games or checking in at a venue. A standard SMS is 160 characters, which seems like a lot compared to a 140 character tweet, but it seems inefficient compared to the 2000 character limit of a BBM.

Instant messaging, in general leaves SMS in the dust, as it allows you to actually have a conversation, rather than broken thoughts and sentences that are easy to get confused -if there’s a 2 part SMS, you might get the second part first. Of course not everyone uses a BlackBerry, and those who may not know better may resort to using SMS to keep in contact with friends and family that use other platforms. Luckily, there is quite a selection of cross-platform messaging applications out there that keep you in the loop, regardless if someone is using an iPhone or a smartphone powered by Android or Windows Phone 7. Keep reading to see which one may be best for you.

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If you use the messaging app Kik for BlackBerry, you will be happy to learn that it has received an update. The new release is said to dramatically improve Kik's performance and battery usage, so if you frequently use the app you will want to be sure to grab the update. This can be done from within the app. Simply go to Settings in the menu, then choose "Help & About Us". Select "Check for Updates" and install from there. If you don't currently use Kik and would like to download it, you can do so at the link below.

More information/download Kik for BlackBerry

Well, it's been quite a while since we've last heard from Kik on the BlackBerry front. But now, a new super secret build has popped up and unlike the last time this news was passed around -- this time, it REALLY is a new and improved build. Push is indeed working fine but it's not making use of RIM's push services, instead it's opening a connection to Kik's servers to get the message out and you'll find a new UI within the app and for the most part, it appears to also be compatible with BlackBerry 7 devices.

We'll leave it up to you all if you wish to proceed in downloading it, Kik has gone ahead and addressed the issue with it scanning your address book so that it now asks permission first, which you can decline. That of course, was seemingly RIM's biggest complaint about the app when it was removed from BlackBerry App World.

One other thing to note, is that the app is not signed by RIM so it will ask your permission to basically do anything. That includes accessing the web, changing your profile pic and more. Act fast, I have a feeling Kik may not keep the link alive long.

Download Kik for BlackBerry

We haven't heard much from Kik lately aside from their ongoing court battle with RIM. The cross-platform messaging service was once the latest and greatest messenger for smartphone users, but it has since left the spotlight (at least on the BlackBerry end) while it sorts out things with RIM. In their first big break since getting things rolling, Kik has raised $8M in funding from RRE Ventures, Spark Capital, and Union Square Ventures. The latest additions to the iOS and Android versions of Kik include both photo sharing as well as group chat for up to ten people. It feels like Kik gets more like BBM with every update.

Poll: Do you use Kik or another cross-platform message service to chat with your non-BB friends? Vote in the poll above and leave a comment with your thoughts below. 

Source:  TechCrunch

Just in case you've been wondering what has been happening in the Research In Motion vs. Kik Interactive legal proceedings we've got some new to share with you all. We've learned from David Lam that Kik Interactive has now filed their Statement of Defence and Counterclaim yesterday at some point. As you may remember, the filed documentation from Research In Motion (PDF) alleged that Kik Interactive CEO, Ted Livingstone while working at Research In Motion had access to sensitive Blackberry Messenger information. As such, the documentation goes on to allege that Ted used his position at Research In Motion to learn things about BlackBerry Messenger, which would later be used within the inner workings of Kik.

In their Statement of Defence and Counterclaim (PDF) Kik goes on to deny these allegations by stating in fact they were not developing Kik at the time of Livingstone’s employment at Research In Motion nor did they infringe upon any of Research In Motions trademarks or patents. They also make sure to point out that at the time, Livingstone had no access to the BlackBerry Messenger source code not any of Research In Motions development plans, market research, and other internal reports related to BlackBerry Messenger.

In the end, Kik Interactive claims the “overnight success of Kik Messenger” put Research In Motion execs on a mission to destroy or seriously harm Kiks reputation by abandoning previously set agreements such as those outlined in the BlackBerry App Word vendor portal and various other arrangements involving developer relations with Research In Motion. Kik claims the suspension and eventual removal of Kik from BlackBerry App World was nothing more just then beginning of a lawsuit, which Research In Motion knows, is meritless and has no real chance of success.

As with most legal cases, we'll not likely find out anything else until after the dust settles but again, like most legal cases that's where all the truth tends to come out from both parties and then we get the real story behind all the legal covering and paperwork. Either way, looking back at the situation we understand both parties’ situations. But surely somewhere along that line there has to be a happy medium between the two. Kik is doing well on other platforms and not having it available on the platform it initially launched with just seems wrong. Who knows? Maybe Kik working with Research In Motion on certain elements would be a good thing all around for both parties.

Source: David Lam Law Blog

Finally!! It's been just over six weeks since our last podcast (my bad - I blame CB Redesign as soaking up all my time), which means we cover a lot of good stuff in this show. While my written BlackBerry Bold 9780 review will be hitting the blogs soon (Monday Tuesday, don't miss it!), in the mean time you can listen to our verbal review. We dive into this discussion just a few minutes in. From there, we cover a bunch of other BlackBerry talk of late, including the Kik craziness, BlackBerry Style and Pearl 3G user impressions, and some of the latest rumors for things to come in 2011. Unfortunately Craig couldn't make this one as we recorded during the day, but we had CrackBerry Idol runner-up Joseph Holder fill in.

We hope you enjoy episode 60. And we PROMISE to be back before the end of 2010 with our super duper Best of 2010 year end show!

* Update: Statement of Claims are publicly viewable documents, so if you want the details on RIM vs. Kik you can click here to download the pdf and check them out for yourself. In addition to the claims of infringing on three patents, another issue at play here is that Kik's founder Ted Livingston used to work for RIM... wait for it... on the BlackBerry Messenger team. Ouch. You can check out Kik's latest blog post on the subject here too. Maybe RIM should just buy Kik. That would solve everybody's problems ;) *

Research In Motion isn't buying into Kik's tag line of "play nice." Filed yesterday in Canada's Federal Court in Toronto, RIM filed a statement of claim against Kik Interactive Inc for patent infringement (see court filing T-1996-10). Odds are a US suit will follow shortly as well. We recently posted RIM's official statement regarding the removal of Kik Messenger from App World, which stated:

RIM became aware of a number of issues and customer concerns regarding the Kik app and service. Following discussions with Kik, the app was removed from BlackBerry App World on November 12. Upon further investigation, RIM concluded that Kik had breached contractual obligations. Based on the broad scope and seriousness of the issues and concerns, RIM terminated its agreements with Kik and withdrew RIM's support for Kik's service.

For those not familiar with Kik, it's a cross-platform (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry) instant messenger application that resembles a very basic version of BlackBerry Messenger in that it features Sent and Read confirmations (and is pretty quick to use!). Kik has also been getting a lot of attention, growing from 0 to over 2 million users in its first month after relaunching. I guess we now know what one of those "issues" is that RIM has with Kik. I'm also guessing Kik downloads for BlackBerry won't be resuming anytime soon....

Source: David Lam's law blog

I've had a lot of interesting conversations this week concerning Kik, the BBM-like cross platform instant messaging application available for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android. Kik is still pretty bare in features, but it's quick, uses data (not SMS) and like BlackBerry Messenger has Delivered and Read confirmation of messages. The majority of these Kik conversations have focused on two key points: one, Kik's amazing growth (upon release they went from 0 to a million users in 15 days and continue to grow) and two, the fact RIM kiked them out of App World and shut down their push service this week (see Kik's plea and RIM's official response).

While the Kik success story/controversy is an interesting one to discuss, the notion that keeps coming into my head when I start talking about Kik isn't Kik itself, but rather Should Research In Motion offer BlackBerry Messenger as an app/service to other smartphone platforms? Let's think about this. The rapid growth of Kik tells me the smartphone world wants a cross-platform BBM-style messenger client. To be the category killer of cross-platform smartphone messaging clients, you need infrastructure, a solid app and a critical mass of users. If a small startup can build an app like Kik and quickly establish their brand and score some awesome growth, just imagine what RIM could accomplish with their massive infrastructure, existing BlackBerry Messenger know-how and brand recognition and global marketing reach. If they decided to go this route, it wouldn't take long for pretty much every smartphone owner to be BBMing, not just BlackBerry owners as it is now (it may not be true BBMing as BlackBerry users know it, but it would be something close enough). Who knows, BBMing could eclipse texting (SMS)!

So should RIM do it? Personally, I think they should. I get the reasons why they wouldn't. RIM makes money from selling smartphones, and right now BlackBerry Messenger is one of those hooks that keeps people on BlackBerry and actually attracts some people to BlackBerry (I've heard stories from carrier reps where individuals walk into the store and ask for the phone that does BBM). But I don't think this reasoning holds up long-term. As soon as a cross-platform BBM-style client emerges in the smartphone space and attains critical mass (ie. Kik or another), even if not as fully-featured as BlackBerry Messenger the hook of BBM starts to diminish. If it's inevitable that a cross-platform BBM alternative is going to emerge down the road, is it not better for RIM to be the one who puts it out? There are some iPhone owners out there who no matter what are never going to own a BlackBerry (Apple fanboys!), but I bet those same people would rock BlackBerry Messenger on their iPhone. 

Anyways... it's something to ponder. Vote on our poll above and let us know what you think in the comments!

Well, that didn't take long. We just received an official statement from Research In Motion regarding the removal of Kik messenger from BlackBerry App World. While the statement makes no mention of the revocation of Kiks signing keys or anything like that, it does clarify the situation a little further, which is what we were hoping for. Below is the statement from RIM regarding the Kik application:

RIM became aware of a number of issues and customer concerns regarding the Kik app and service. Following discussions with Kik, the app was removed from BlackBerry App World on November 12. Upon further investigation, RIM concluded that Kik had breached contractual obligations. Based on the broad scope and seriousness of the issues and concerns, RIM terminated its agreements with Kik and withdrew RIM’s support for Kik’s service.

Interesting developments, that’s for sure. After reading that, I'm not so sure Kik will be allowed back into BlackBerry App World. Of course, that’s just my personal thoughts on the situation, share yours in the comments.

Today Kik posted a blog explaining just what's going on with their Kik Messenger BlackBerry app. If you remember last week, their app was pulled from BlackBerry App World without explaination, and since then has been nowhere to be found. Delays of up to one hour have been occuring for Kik users, and the whole mess has been kind of up in the air.

The blog post today straight from Kik is basically an open letter for users asking RIM not to keep the app off BlackBerry. There is really no good explaination from RIM, but it's a safe bet the BBM likeness of the app isn't one of their favorites -- kind of goes against Kiks tagline of "play nice" huh? From Kik's blog:

We have worked day and night to build a super-fast, reliable and free cross-platform instant messaging app. This includes more than a year of development for BlackBerry smartphones. We have worked cooperatively with RIM at every step. We think it's fair to say that, until very recently, our relationship has been nothing less than friendly.

RIM placed Kik on BlackBerry App World without issue. Kik's upcoming mobile music service received a special award at BlackBerry DevCon about a year ago, and was named by RIM just six weeks ago as one of the first five featured apps to be included in its upcoming BBM platform.

We'll see what details we can gather on all of this and where things are heading. For now you unfortunately can't download Kik for BlackBerry (and without Push who would want to) but other platforms are still up and running. Keep reading for the full Kik post.

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If you're not familiar with Kik, the concept is pretty simple. You can think of it as a cross-platform BlackBerry Messenger style of app. It's still pretty basic in terms of functionality, but it does provide the R (read) and D (delivered) message stamps that makes BBM what it is, is pretty quick to use, and of course uses data instead of SMS. In the past few weeks especially, it's been gaining momentum with a lot of downloads and usage among smartphone users.

The growth among BlackBerry users has been temporarily stunted though... I woke up this morning to see a Kik message on my BlackBerry Bold 9780 from the Kik team which says,

New downloads of Kik Messenger for BlackBerry devices have been temporarily suspended. Kik service for all existing users (including BlackBerry) is unaffected, as are new downloads for iPhone and Android devices. New BlackBerry downloads will resume as soon as possible.

No explanation was given as to why, but it does seem the Kik page is no longer showing in App World. I was reading through the reviews of Kik on App World this week and there were a ton of comments complaining that it killlled battery life after being installed. Could be we'll see Kik again as soon as they clean up their coding a bit (though to be honest, I haven't personally experienced too much of a battery drain when using Kik, though I do exit the program fully after using it and just open when I get push notification). 

As for Kik usage itself, I'm curious to see where it's at among CrackBerry readers. Take a vote on the poll above and let us know what you think of Kik in the comments!

Ok, I admit it. The title is kind of misleading in the fact it makes you think Kik is just now being supported. This is not the case. Kik has been compatible with the BlackBerry Torch 9800 since it's release and is expected to work with other BlackBerry 6 devices as they launch further on down the road. This is just basically a reminder for those of you out there that have a BlackBerry Torch.

You can download Kik through BlackBerry App World today and it will work just fine on your BlackBerry Torch. Since a lot of applications will need to be updated for BlackBerry 6 compatability, it's nice to see some that are already up and ready to go. Kudos to the folks at Kik for sure.

• Click Here To Download Kik From BlackBerry App World Today>> 
• Click Here To Learn More Abt Kik, The Cross Platform Messaging App>>
  

Kik for BlackBerry has been out for a while now. Many users have adopted it as their cross platform messaging service as an alternative to BlackBerry messenger. Today, Kik has updated their BlackBerry version with some nice enhancements and improvements. The list is as follows:

• Improved the UI
• Made it even easier to invite others to join Kik
• Improved reliability
• Reduced battery usage 

In addition to the BlackBerry version being updated, the iPhone release has now rolled out of beta. And soon, Android users will have a version available to them. From now until, June 22nd the mobile version is free to download. The mobile download of Kik will link you to the newest BlackBerry version.

• Click Here To Learn More And Download Kik For BlackBerry Today>>

Well, this is interesting. As some of you may remember we first let loose some information about Kik back at the BlackBerry Developers Conference. Now, while we are all still waiting for the Kik music app to arrive, out of nowhere Kik has sent a message to some of the folks who signed up previously regarding a new application they have clearly been working on under the covers. Kik Chat as its called is a new SMS application which offers a well rounded feature set that I was totally impressed with as soon as I opened it. Check out the feature list, as noted from their email.

• INSTANT: Just start texting any mobile phone number in your phone's address book and we automatically get it through. You can forget about requesting or following your friends, or trying to figure out who is and isn't on Kik. Woohoo!
• UNLIMITED FREE KIK-TO-KIK: Get unlimited, free texting to all Kik users! So send your friends a free Kik message telling them to join. 
• TWO WAY KIK-TO-NON-KIK: Stay connected to non-Kik users with 50 free outgoing SMS messages a month (unlimited free incoming). Additional outgoing messages are less than a cent. But hey, why not save the $0.009 by getting your friends to download Kik?
• REAL NUMBERS = REAL RELIABILITY: Thanks to special arrangements with US and Canadian carriers, we send your Kik-to-Non-Kik messages through real mobile phone numbers. That guarantees fast delivery of every Kik-to-Non-Kik text. Nice! Most other services still rely on email to SMS gateways, which means your texts can take up to 8 hours to deliver. Sooo 2009.
• BLACKBERRY AND IPHONE PEACEMAKER: We took the time to develop an awesome app for both BlackBerry AND iPhone. Now you can easily and reliably text your iPhone and BlackBerry friends for free. (Note: the iPhone app costs $0.99)
  
• NO LONG DISTANCE SMS CHARGES: Your friends who haven't yet joined Kik can reply without paying long distance SMS charges. How so? We automatically assign you a local texting phone number in each country we support (currently US and Canada).
• FUNCTIONAL STATUS: Have time to read a message, but not respond? Don't worry, we won't rat you out. BBM users know why you'll love this feature. :)

Pretty cool and well, totally unexpected. Kik to Kik SMS is free, so it's a valid reason to suggest it to other users so you can have free SMS to them. And just in case you still have friends and family members not using Kik, they will give you 50 free messages to those users each month. Now, this isn't to say the Kik music app we saw is no longer coming, it's actually planned for a later release along with a few other items on the list as well. This is just one piece of Kik that will build a whole community around the apps offered. Kik works with the BlackBerry Bold , Bold 9700, Tour, 8300, 8500, 8800 and 8900 and finally iPhones with more to come, including Android devices.

• Click On Over To The Kik Website To Learn More Details>> 
• Click Here To Download Kik Chat Now Ota And Get Started Right Away>>

While at the BlackBerry Developer Conference last month we all got a look at a new BlackBerry music app that is forthcoming called Kik from the folks who released Unsynced. Kik was part of the BlackBerry Developer Challenge at DevCon where they announced they will be launching their application offering up DRM-Free MP3 downloads right to your BlackBerry smartphone. In addition to being DRM free, Kik will also include three free plays of any song which you download, so if you just want to quickly listen to a song you can get it out of your system and move on if you do so wish with no purchase obligation or if you wanted to keep the song, you can listen to ad's and it's yours for free. 

Yesterday, those who signed up to be notified of Kiks release were emailed a newsletter outlining the details of the Kik launch. The newsletter, confirmed a launch timeframe of January for Canada and the US to follow not long after the Canadian release. And it looks as though we'll be getting some sort of desktop application to go a long with our BlackBerry version as well. Excited to see what Kik has in store for us all.

• Sign Up For More Notifications Of Kik's Release Via Their Site>>