Blackberry has begun pushing out an update for its messaging services, BBM, to Android, iOS and Blackberry users which has brought a raft of new and additional features which the company originally announced late last year.
The features which the new BBM is bringing to users include:
BBM Voice
Blackberry are stating that BBM voice will enable iOS and Android users to make free calls to BBM contacts anywhere in the world using your Wi-Fi or data connection. It would seem it is somewhat similar to Google Hangouts and iMessage where free texts or calls can be made over WiFi, or your data plan (3G or 4G) but of course this could possibly chew through your data allowance if you choose to go down this route.
BBM Channels
BBM Channels according to the Fairfax based company, allows users to chat with other BBM users about topics that interest them. Users or customers can then join channels about a range of topics from products, hobbies and sports to entertainment, fashion, cars and more.
Blackberry continue to state that BBM Channels can and will be created by brands, businesses and other BBM users alike, in which the company state BBM channels will be a great way to communicate directly and immediately with people who may share common interests within the broader BBM community.channel owners immediately reach their subscribers with a message that can spark discussions, simply by posting their own channel according to the companies blog that is.
Location Sharing powered by Glympse
Location sharing is somewhat a good idea to come to the app, given if your are running late or wanting to exactly show a fellow colleague where you are to meet up at events or venues and Blackberry have partnered up with Glympse to bring this feature to BBM users.
BBM users can share your location and choose how long to share your location publicly, by setting the timer within the location sharing part of the app and when the timer runs out your location is private again.
Pictures, Voice notes, attachments and more
Originally, BBM was somewhat hard to share both photo’s and files with your fellow contacts within the app and it seems Blackberry have finally resolved this issue and now it is much more easier to either snap a pic or share a file without any hassles. Additional features also include the ability to send a voice note to your friends, send a calendar event or a third party contact within your address book to another without having to manually copy and paste this information.
Dropbox Integration
Most messenger apps already have the ability to either use cloud storage services like dropbox to easily transfer or send files or pictures and finally Blackberry have partnered with Dropbox to easily store received files or pictures in the cloud without taking up valuable storage space on your device.
New Emoticons
Don’t we all love emoticons? I certainly can’t get enough of them but I did find the BBM did lack a good amount of emoticons but now it seems they have rectified this and have brought at least 100 new emoticons to share and have fun whilst chatting away!
Larger BBM Groups
Blackberry have finally brought in a whole new and expanded BBM Groups, which enables up to 50 users to be able to basically chat within one group, instead of having so many little groups originally. This certainly makes sense for a business point of view should the need arise for such a service.
You can also watch a video of the new features and some tips on what to look out for with the new update here:
You can now download the BBM update from the Play Store, or you can go to the BBM website to find out more about the new update and what is included.
Do you use BBM? Do you like the new update? Would you consider downloading and using BBM for Android because of these new features? We would like to hear your thoughts below.
