Since Research in Motion officially released BlackBerry Messenger 5 users have reported issues with the BBM icon disappearing on various builds of the BlackBerry OS. To make a long story short, BBM 5 isn’t compatible with certain builds of the BlackBerry operating system.
To address this problem, Research in Motion has released KB article KB22308 ,which, basically, just lets you know that RIM is aware of the issue but that they haven’t found a resolution or have a time frame for when they will. RIM also updated the BlackBerry Messenger page on BlackBerry App World:
- Before downloading, please back up your contact list by displaying the menu within BlackBerry Messenger – Options – Back Up. (Available for BBM 5.0 and 5.0.1 users)
- Please ensure that you are using RIM or carrier approved BlackBerry® Device Software to avoid compatibility issues that may result in loss of the BBM icon. For more information, read article KB23968 (http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=KB23968)
- After installing the new version of BBM, please restart your device.
[Via BerryReview]
“A service interruption occurred Tuesday that affected BlackBerry customers in the Americas. Message delivery was delayed or intermittent during the service interruption. Phone service and SMS services on BlackBerry smartphones were unaffected. Root cause is currently under review, but based on preliminary analysis, it currently appears that the issue stemmed from a flaw in two recently released versions of BlackBerry Messenger (versions 5.0.0.55 and 5.0.0.56) that caused an unanticipated database issue within the BlackBerry infrastructure. RIM has taken corrective action to restore service.
“RIM has also provided a new version of BlackBerry Messenger (version 5.0.0.57) and is encouraging anyone who downloaded or upgraded BlackBerry Messenger since December 14th to upgrade to this latest version which resolves the issue. RIM continues to monitor its systems to maintain normal service levels and apologizes for any inconvenience to customers.”
[Via CIO]
Research in Motion has been pumping out updates to BlackBerry Messenger 5 as of late. Now at version 5.0.0.57, this is the third release of BBM in the last week.
Download BlackBerry Messenger 5.0.0.57
BlackBerry Messenger 5 has been officially updated to version 5.0.0.55 and is available for download. If you are running BlackBerry OS 4.7 or higher you can pick up BlackBerry Messenger 5.0.0.55 on BlackBerry App World (eventually), or, by pointing your device’s BlackBerry Browser to http://www.blackberry.com/messenger.
There is no changelog for BBM 5.0.0.55, so, if you notice any changes, leave us a comment and let us know about it.
BlackBerry Messenger 5 is now officially available from Research in Motion. You can pick it up over on BlackBerry App World, or, download it OTA by visiting http://blackberry.com/messenger from your device.
BlackBerry Messenger 5 features include:
- Personalize BlackBerry Messenger with a display picture
- Add friends by scanning barcodes or sharing PINs
- Share pictures, videos, voice notes and more with multiple contacts at once
- Create groups of friends, family or colleagues and instantly share calendars, lists, conversations and updates
- See what your friends are listening to by viewing their song titles
- Organize conversation lists by date
- Send and receive text messages
- Back up and restore your contact list
If you have a BlackBerry running OS 4.5 or higher, BlackBerry Messenger 5 is definitely worth picking up. I fully expect it to jump to the number one spot on App World’s most downloaded apps within a few days at most.
Well, what do you know… BlackBerry Messenger 5 will launch globally in just a couple of days on October 7th and it actually will be called BlackBerry Messenger 5.
Kevin from CrackBerry.com received the following email:
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.
I’ve been using a leaked version of BlackBerry Messenger 5 for some time now, and, I’ve got to admit, it is a really well put together BlackBerry application. Can’t wait for this thing to come out.
Word on the street is that Research in Motion has updated the BlackBerry Messenger Servers to the latest version and inadvertently pushed out an OTA download link to some BlackBerry Messenger users. A lot of us have already downloaded a leaked version of the upgrade which we have been calling BlackBerry Messenger 5. We hear, however, that BBM5 won’t be the official name.
Whatever RIM decides to call the next version of BlackBerry Messenger, it shouldn’t be too long before it is officially released to the public.
One of the really cool features in BlackBerry Messenger 5 is the ability to add new contacts by scanning a barcode (QR Code, Mobile Tag) using the camera in your BlackBerry. As many of you that have downloaded the leaked version of BlackBerry Messenger 5 know, scanning a new contacts information is significantly less cumbersome than manually entering it in. What you may not have known is that the barcode scanner in BBM 5 scans more than just contact information.
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