Blackberry has officially released BBM for Windows Phone finally. This release is not available for all to download now. The BBM for Windows Beta sailed its way into the Windows Phone Store earlier this week as a private beta, meaning by invitation only. The beta program has now opened up further but is still limited. Expanding BlackBerry Messenger to other platforms has been part of BlackBerry’s strategy for keeping its products alive. The free chatting and voice calling app expanded to iOS and Android late last year after some initial hiccups. Those versions added more than 40 million registered users to the total BBM population by the end of 2013. In February, BBM product and marketing chief Jeff Gadway promised a Windows Phone version for this summer.
The app boasts a native experience that makes use of the Windows Phone user interface and focuses on three areas: Contacts, Chats and Feeds. Swiping left and right will move you between the three pages, while common actions are found at the bottom of the page, and additional controls can be accessed in the menu through the button with three dots.
There is also a feature known as BBM Groups, which not only has a private group chat, but a shared photo album where group members can chat about pictures, as well as shared calendars and shared lists. BBM features feeds too, which lets you see when contacts update their status or profile photo (think Facebook updates in a chat app). If you want to chat with your friends about their latest updates, you just have to tap on their name to be redirected to a chat.
One of the more unique features BBM for Windows Phone has is the ability to pin a contact to the Start menu for easy access — when you select that BBM contact right from the Start menu, you’ll be taken directly to a chat window with them. BlackBerry is opening up the beta version of BBM for Windows Phone so users can test it and provide feedback, but if you’re waiting for the full release, the company advises you to wait “just a bit longer.”
