New BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 Launching Tomorrow?

by Ronen Halevy on Oct 6th, 2009 at 5:35 am EST

bbm5 Looks like some good news for what we have been calling BlackBerry Messenger 5.0. Kevin got a hold of some release notes for the new version that has been floating around the web for the last few weeks. Personally I can attest to the fact that the app is awesome but the backup feature for contacts sucks in the beta. Still I cannot wait for the official release!

BlackBerry® Messenger 5.0

Launch Date: Global – October 7, 2009

BlackBerry® Messenger is an instant messaging application that allows BlackBerry Smartphone users to send and receive instant messages with other BlackBerry Smartphone users.

BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 is the latest release.

Features:

Enhanced SMS -Allows for a conversational chat-like user experience with a single contact list for the most personal mobile-to-mobile communications
- Note: BlackBerry® Device Software 5.0 and later is required for the SMS functionality.
Avatars - Users can choose a picture from the BlackBerry Smartphone gallery and save it as their personal avatar, which will be seen by their contacts. They can also view other avatars in the contact list and zoom in on the avatars of contacts participating in a conversation by selecting "View participants."
Large Media File Transfer - Users can send/receive large file transfers up to 6 megabytes for pictures, files and audio.
- Note: BlackBerry Device Software 5.0 is required to receive large media files.
Enhanced Group Functionality - Allows for the ability to update, share & communicate with a subset community.
Bar-code Identity - A user can add a contact to the BlackBerry Messenger contact list by displaying a 2-dimensional bar code that invitees can capture with their device cameras.
Reliable Contact Backup and Restore - Contacts are backed-up on a server and do not require the need for BlackBerry® Desktop Manager.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 and is filed under News.
Tags: BlackBerry Messenger

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9 Comments to “New BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 Launching Tomorrow?”

Posted by: John L
October 6, 2009 at 8:17 am EST

Will this release work with bb os 5.0.0.238?

Reply
- Posted by: mscooley
  October 6, 2009 at 9:01 am EST
  
  im pretty sure it will. prayerfully.
  
  Reply
Posted by: FOSSroxTHX
October 6, 2009 at 12:11 pm EST

All I care for is extendable (custom) graemlins.
Also, that it works with OS versions under 5.0 (or RIM releases OS 5.0 for 8330)

Reply
Posted by: jaybone3030
October 6, 2009 at 5:42 pm EST

The last missing puzzle on my 5.0 OS… FINALLY!!!!!

Reply
Posted by: Genaro201
October 7, 2009 at 2:48 am EST

OH yeah, cant wait to get the official release.

Reply
Posted by: Jay
October 7, 2009 at 12:51 pm EST

So anyone actually get a hold of the official release yet?

Reply
Posted by: Pat
October 7, 2009 at 1:55 pm EST

soo what happened to this supposed update?

the leak of v5 is awesome .. not so much a fan of the 4.7 that comes with the 5.0 OS

Reply
Posted by: JessF
October 13, 2009 at 10:40 am EST

I downloaded the new BBM 5.0 and it worked great yesterday, but today I am having problems. Every time I type a message to a contact, periods are randomly placed between words and some letters are caps. Not sure what is happening.

Has anyone else had this problem??

Reply