BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is enhancing their messenger applications for iOS and Android to include new features. This new update is available starting today.
BlackBerry introduces messenger upgrade
BlackBerry Messenger 2.0 includes a voice feature that allows users to make free phone calls to other BBM users. It works with either Wi-Fi or data. Another notable feature is BBM channels which are essentially chat forums. Users can create channels on whatever topics they would like and subscribe to other user channels. There’s also a revamped version BBM Groups where users can share information, pictures, or lists with a selected group of people. This new version allows users to create larger groups of up to 50.
Another notable BBM feature is built-in Dropbox. This allows users to send direct files from their Dropbox accounts to another BBM user as well as save files from other users into their file storage accounts. Last, but certainly not least, this messenger also has a new feature from Glympse which makes it easy for users to share their location with other users for up to four hours.
BlackBerry puts a focus on messenger features
BBM director of Product Management Sean Hungerford added, “BBM continues to grow in popularity and we are focused on providing our users the best, most full-featured mobile messaging and sharing experience in the market. Our partnership with Glympse will help us take the BBM experience a step further by adding live location sharing and making the experiences our users share on BBM more dynamic than ever.”
For years, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) has struggled in the smartphone market. As more savvy tech consumers dropped the once popular smartphone for phones such as the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy. That said, BlackBerry Messenger continues to thrive as a popular instant messaging service.
The new messenger complete with new features will also be available to BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) 10 users. Users who use BlackBerry OS 5 and above will receive a similar update without DropBox feature.
