Update – July 31, 2014
BBM for Windows Phone is now publicly available for download
We’ve gotten an incredible number of requests for BBM to come to Windows Phone. In the coming weeks we’ll be ready to welcome millions of Windows Phone users to the growing BBM community.
Sharing Experiences with Control and Privacy
In this first release of BBM for Windows Phone, we’re focused on introducing Windows Phone users to the power of sharing experiences in the moment through the immediacy and privacy offered by BBM. Users can engage in BBM Chats with one or many contacts, with the ability to share pictures, voice notes, contacts and location.
BBM Groups let you connect and share with up to 50 contacts. In addition to a private group chat, BBM Groups offer you a shared photo album where group members can chat about pics as well as shared calendars and shared lists. Broadcast messages will also be included in the first release, providing a way to quickly reach large groups of contacts as well as creating a feed where you can check out news from all your BBM contacts.
We’ll be working to quickly add more features to BBM for Windows Phone such as stickers, BBM Voice, BBM Channels and location sharing powered by Glympse in the months ahead.
A Fresh New Native Look & Feel
Customers love apps that are simple, easy to use and beautifully designed. Over the last couple of releases we’ve focused on simplifying the BBM user experience to make it easier to sign up, sign in and add BBM contacts. When it comes to design, we’ve heard users asking for a native experience that matches the experience they’re accustomed to on their phone.
I’m excited to announce with this release of BBM for Windows Phone we will be moving to a more familiar, native user experience that embraces the clean, modern design of the Windows Phone UI.
The BBM for Windows Phone interface focuses on three key areas core to the BBM experience: Contacts, Chats and Feeds.
Swiping left and right will move you between these three pages. Common actions are found at the bottom of the page in the footer and additional controls can be found in the menu accessed through the three dots.
Contacts
In Contacts, we’ve created a single centralized place where you will find all your BBM contacts, regardless of whether it’s an individual, or a BBM Group. At the bottom of the Contacts page you have the ability to search for a contact, find friends, create a new BBM Group and select multiple contacts to create a new multi-person chat, send a broadcast message or organize a contact category. Another really cool thing you can do with BBM for Windows Phone is pin a BBM contact to the Start menu for easy access. When you select that BBM contact from the Start menu you will be taken directly to a chat window with them.
Chats
The Chats page is your single destination for all your BBM Chats including group chats, multi-person chats, and one-to-one BBM chats. From the chats page you can start a pick up a conversation or start a new chat, multi-chat or broadcast message. In a chat, you have lots of ways to share. You can attach a picture from your camera, add a voice note, send a contact, share a photo from your gallery or send your location.
Feeds
Feeds lets you see what’s happening with your BBM contacts. Here you will see when contacts update their status or profile photo. If you want to chat about one of their updates, just touch on their name and you’ll be taken to a chat. Here you can also quickly update your own status to share what you’re up to or what’s on your mind.
BBM for Windows Phone Beta Starting Soon
The BBM team here at BlackBerry has been busy getting BBM for Windows Phone ready to go. We’re preparing for an external beta ahead of our launch and are ready to start accepting applications to participate. Now remember, this is a beta and our expectation is that participants will help us make BBM for Windows Phone great by actively participating. If you’re not ready to report bugs, respond to surveys and provide feedback – better to wait just a bit longer for the full release. If you are excited to join the BBM for Windows beta program, please apply at BlackBerry BetaZone.