RIM Releases BlackBerry Messenger 6 Officially!

RIM let us know that the official rollout of BlackBerry Messenger 6.0 starts at 12:01AM EST. Sorry we jumped the gun a few hours ago but now you understand why. You can start checking App World now for the update but due to their 24 hour cache period that may take a bit. As you have already seen RIM has started approving apps in App World that make use of the Social Platform available in BBM 6 so they are available when BBM6 launches now.

In an interview with Mike Kirkup, Director of Developer Relations @ RIM, he told us that BBM now has 45 million users and is seeing tremendous growth. They process over a billion BBM messages a day and the number is only growing. This ability to use BBM inside 3rd party apps is going to be explosive but more on that soon. RIM’s goal is to let developer harness BBM’s instant feature. Mike told me his colleague described it as both Instant AND Intimate. In other words sub 3 second messages along with a intimate private chat setting. Now developers are going to be able to tap into that powerful BBM social graph.

You should be able to find BBM 6 in App World sometime today or directly at:
www.blackberry.com/blackberrymessenger

Check out the press release below:

RIM Delivers Revolutionary Social App Experience with BBM 6
Apps become social experiences once users can interact with their BBM friends

Waterloo, ON – BBMTM (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 app.

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

“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.