BlackBerry has finally launched its BBM instant messaging app to all Windows Phone users.
We’ve been waiting for the app to drop on Windows Phone since the iOS and Android version arrived last year. Then in February we heard that the popular instant messaging app would land on Microsoft’s mobile OS in July.
A couple of weeks ago, BlackBerry made the BBM beta available to select Windows Phone users who had signed up for the beta program.
Now the app has landed on the Windows Phone Store proper, albeit still in beta form.
The app enables secure cross-platform chats, both one to one and group. As well as text messages, you can quickly share pictures, voice notes, BBM contacts, and your location.
You’ll know when your messages have been delivered and read, and the app will also inform you when a contact is in the process of replying.
What’s most notable about the BBM Beta app is that it’s been subtly redesigned to fit with the whole Windows Phone (don’t call it Metro) aesthetic, with a familiar side-scrolling structure and chunky header fonts. The app is separated into three main areas: Chats, Feeds, and Contacts.
You also get to take advantage of Windows Phone’s Live Tile system, in this case pinning individual chats to the Start screen.
The BBM Beta app is free to download right now, and it works on all Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 8.1 handsets. While this is “V1” of the app, BlackBerry is already apparently hard at work on “V2,” which will “introduce additional features.”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.