You spoke, we listened!

Last spring, we asked for your thoughts and feedback – the good, the bad and the ugly – on your overall user experience with BlackBerry® Beta Zone. Now, based on more than 3,000 responses from the BlackBerry Beta Zone community, we’ve made changes based on what you asked for!

Some quick background: BlackBerry Beta Zone gives users a unique opportunity to get the newest BlackBerry software and applications before they’re ready to be released to the general public. Once users test out the software, they have the opportunity to offer feedback and suggestions directly to us about how to improve the experience for all users.

Now that you’re caught up on what BlackBerry Beta Zone is, let’s go through the new changes and improvements:

A more user friendly interface

We’ve redesigned the site from top to bottom. It’s more engaging to use, has more interactive elements, and offers a more intuitive user experience to make sure you can find what you’re looking for quickly and easily.

A clearer division between Business and Consumer beta programs

We’ve also now separated BlackBerry Beta Zone into two distinct sites: BlackBerry Beta Zone and BlackBerry Beta Zone for Business. BlackBerry Beta Zone for Business now has its own dedicated URL so users can more easily access enterprise programs, while consumers only see content and programs that are of interest to them.

More opportunities to get involved

We know BlackBerry Beta Zone members have a lot to say, so we’ve added a blog-style newsfeed to provide the latest site news and allow you to comment and share in the conversation. We’ll also be posting more frequent polls and surveys, ensuring that there are more opportunities than ever to get your feedback.

Improved mobile experience

BlackBerry beta testers are always on the move, so we’ve optimized our mobile site to make it easier to provide your feedback on the go. We’ve revised the mobile layout, simplified the download process, and added access to a number of new features – all to improve your mobile beta testing experience.

And that’s just what we’ve got launching today! We’re always looking for your feedback on how we can continue to improve your BlackBerry Beta Zone experience – so make sure to log in, check out the new site, and tell us what you think!

Great news, #TeamBlackBerry: Twitter® for BlackBerry® smartphones v2.1 now has multi-account support—the top user requested feature. As of today, the app is leaving beta and will be made available for download in the BlackBerry App World™ storefront (please note it may take up to 24 hours for the app to appear in BlackBerry App World for some users).

In case you missed it, you can check out the highlights of the new multi-account support feature in the Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones v2.1 (Beta) blog post. I’d like to give a huge shout-out to our BlackBerry® Beta Zone users for their helpful feedback. The Twitter app development team here at Research In Motion® (RIM®) has since implemented a keyboard shortcut (Alt+Space) to make switching accounts a cinch. (Note: the shortcut key does not work on devices with SureType® keyboards.)

There are also a couple of cool multi-account support features available for BlackBerry® 6 and BlackBerry® 7 OS users in Social Feeds for effectively managing multiple Twitter accounts. Let’s take a closer look at Share with BBM and multi-account support in this updated version.

Share with BBM

While you could always share Tweets with your BBM contacts (as well as through email, text message, PIN, and Facebook®!), the Share with BBM feature has been added as a top-level menu item to make it easier to share Tweets with your BBM contacts. Having conversations about relevant Tweets through BBM has never been so easy.

Share Tweets with BBM Contacts and Groups

View multiple Twitter accounts in a single timeline

Using Social Feeds, you can view a stream of Tweets from up to five Twitter accounts in a single Social Feeds timeline, or you can opt to filter individual Twitter accounts.

View a stream of Tweets from all Twitter accounts in Social Feeds

Option to filter individual Twitter accounts

Post a Tweet to multiple Twitter accounts

Do you have one Tweet that begs to be published from multiple accounts – all at the same time? Now it’s possible to publish a Tweet to one or more Twitter accounts simultaneously. Just click New Post from the menu and select all of the Twitter accounts you wish to post a Tweet from and you’re good to roll. It’s that simple.

Post a tweet to multiple Twitter accounts simultaneously

As mentioned, Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones v2.1 with multi-account support and enhanced Share with BBM functionality will become available in BlackBerry App World over the next 24 hours. (Please note: The Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones v2.1 app is available for users running BlackBerry® Device Software v5.0 and up. To check your device’s version of software and update it if applicable, see this Inside BlackBerry Help Blog post: How to identify BlackBerry Device Software versions.)

I look forward to reading your feedback on everything we do, but especially on Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones! Please log in and leave a comment below if you want to share.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s new in this release.

Additional Profile Functions

You’ll notice that just to the right of My Profile photo and name, there are two new icons: Edit Profile and Switch Accounts. While you could always edit your profile via the Menu, now you can use the Edit Profile icon right from the Profile screen to change your picture or update your personal information. The Edit Profile screen has also received a new facelift.

New Edit Profile and Switch Account icons

Multi-Account Support

The new Multi-Account Support feature is designed to let you use up to five accounts on Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones. When logged into multiple accounts, the current user name will appear in the upper-left corner of the header bar and the user picture will appear in the My Profile icon. You can quickly switch between accounts by using the Switch Account function, accessible from My Profile or via the Menu. Have an interesting Tweet in one account that you’d like to share from another account? No problem, you can cross-post Tweets and Retweets from one account to another without switching the current account view. You can also stay notified of Mentions and Messages with near real-time notifications for each of your Twitter accounts.

Account Switch via My Profile

Account Switch on Retweet

This update is currently available in BlackBerry Beta Zone. To download the latest beta version, you need to register to become a BlackBerry Beta Zone member. Not sure how to get started? Check out Ty’s blog post on how to join a BlackBerry Beta Zone program. Please note that you must reside in one of the BlackBerry Beta Zone supported countries in order to participate in the latest beta release.

Download it today and be sure to leave a comment to tell us what you think.

Now that the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet is being used in a wide variety of industries by a range of various professionals, I thought it would be prudent to throw a spotlight on one of the more interesting communities involved with the product, as well as how you can get involved and provide feedback. I had the pleasure of speaking with John H., a member of the Beta Programs team at Research In Motion® (RIM®). Check out the conversation below!

Hi John, can you give us a quick introduction to what you do at RIM?

Sure, Luke. RIM’s Beta team operates programs for new software through the BlackBerry® Beta Zone. My colleagues and I are members of the beta team and are specifically interested in the BlackBerry® Tablet OS; what people think of it, how they use it, what they’d change, and what they love about it. It is essential to our job to make sure the voice of our customers is represented internally.

So what is the “Global BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Community”?

The community is open to anyone in BlackBerry Beta Zone and is an open forum for discussions about the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and the BlackBerry Tablet OS.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry for Business Blog »

UPDATE 07/07/2011: Quick update, friends! Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0 is now live in BlackBerry App World. Click the link and check it out! (Note: It may take up to 24 hours for the new version of Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones to appear in BlackBerry App World for some users).

The Twitter® app team here at Research In Motion® (RIM®) always strives to deliver a great user experience that meets the diverse needs of our customers. The updates included in this latest version were primarily driven by customer feedback we received on v2.0. We hope that you will be happy with the changes we’ve made to continue to improve the experience of Twitter for BlackBerry® smartphones.

The Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0 Beta update is available today within BlackBerry® Beta Zone. Let’s take a look at the latest changes we’ve made:

Color Refresh

This update features a lighter color scheme consisting of light blue with a shade of white. This new, smooth color scheme makes it easy to follow where you are in the timeline and has been incorporated throughout the app.

Compose a Tweet

It’s all about options! By default, the Tweet composer is “hidden” from the Home timeline but accessible from the new “Compose Tweet” bar located below the nav bar as displayed in Option 1 below. Clicking the “Compose Tweet” bar will bring up the Tweet composer at the bottom of the screen, similar to if you’re composing a Tweet via the Menu or by using the same hotkey that you would use to compose an email message from the BlackBerry message list (for example, in English, the hotkey is ‘c’ if using a QWERTY keyboard). Alternatively, you can choose to display the Tweet composer as a static fixture at the top of the Home timeline (see Option 2).

Option 1

Option 2

Trending Topics now with local trends support

A Trending Topics icon has been added to the nav bar and now includes local trends support. Local trends helps you keep in touch with the trends in your area while on-the-go with the Twitter app.

My Profile

Now you can access your profile quickly and easily from the nav bar (or the Menu). And, you’ll notice that the icon is personalized with your profile picture to better help you identify the account that you’re logged into (teaser: this feature will be especially helpful should we include multi-account support in a future release. #justsayin =D).

Performance Enhancements

Last but certainly not least, we’ve included some performance enhancements to improve the overall usability of the app.

This update is currently available in BlackBerry Beta Zone. To download the latest beta version, you need to register to become a BlackBerry Beta Zone member. Please note that you must reside in one of the BlackBerry Beta Zone supported countries in order to participate in the latest beta release.

Check it out today and post a comment below to let us know what you think of the changes we’ve made.

We’ve been really pleased with your feedback on the initial beta release of the Facebook® for BlackBerry® smartphones v2.0 app that launched just six weeks ago. In terms of beta user satisfaction, Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0 has achieved some of the highest ratings ever received on a BlackBerry smartphone beta app. We’re pleased to announce that the beta refresh of Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0 is available in BlackBerry® Beta Zone today, and that it includes the much-anticipated support for BlackBerry® Device Software v.5.0.

What’s New?

In addition to BlackBerry Device Software v.5.0 support, we’ve also added several new features and performance enhancements to improve the initial beta version. Let’s take a look at some of the new additions:

Facebook Chat Enhancements

While chatting with your friends, you will now know when they’re typing a message by the visual cue of “is typing a message”. As well, you can filter your Online Contacts to quickly find a specific friend and start a Chat message.

View Mutual Friends and Friends List

The ability to view Mutual Friends and Friends List is available from the Info tab on Profiles. With the new Mutual Friends feature, you can discover which friends you have in common with another user. You can also now view a user’s Friends List from their Profile if their privacy settings permit this.

Enhanced Integration with BlackBerry Native Apps

Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0 is more integrated with native BlackBerry smartphone apps than ever. You can now click on PINs, phone numbers and email addresses that are displayed on Wall posts, messages on the Info tab, and either perform the respective action (e.g. place a call) or save the information to your BlackBerry Contacts application.

Performance Enhancements

As mentioned above, we also added these performance enhancements to Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0:

• Improved Facebook Chat connection.
• Cursor no longer disappears while scrolling through the News Feed.
• Consistent Chat message delivery notifications.
• Improved Online Contacts list loading time.

To download the latest beta version of Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0, you need to register to become a BlackBerry Beta Zone member. Please note that you must reside in one of the countries listed here in order to participate in the beta.

We truly appreciate the feedback and participation from our beta testers, and value their commitment to helping Research In Motion® (RIM®) deliver a high-quality app!

UPDATE: In less than 24 hours, we have reached over 10,000 downloads of Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones v2.0. To make sure more of you can download the app, 10,000 more beta trials have been added to BlackBerry Beta Zone!

I’m excited to announce the beta release of the Facebook® for BlackBerry® smartphones app v2.0 through BlackBerry® Beta Zone starting today. The Facebook app team here at Research In Motion® (RIM®) has been working hard to incorporate the feedback we have received from our users to make v2.0 the biggest update to the Facebook application since we released v1.0 more than three years ago. This initial release of v2.0 has a redesigned user interface and also offers Facebook Chat!

Below are some of the new features of Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0:

Facebook Chat

You can now check to see which of your Facebook friends are online and start a Chat conversation from within the Facebook application or within the unified mailbox on your BlackBerry smartphone.

On Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones, as long as your status is set to online, you still receive notifications even if you are not using the Facebook app.

Improved News Feed

Improved News Feed interactions enable you to scroll through your News Feed without accidentally clicking ‘Like’; you can simply click the ‘More’ button (+) to interact with your friends’ posts. Enhanced publisher functionality allows you post photos to your Wall, add an update, or check in to a Facebook Place from the News Feed.

New Navigation Control

By introducing a whole new way to navigate the Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones application, we’ve moved from a static navigation bar to a drop-down navigation control that is scalable to support new features in the future.

Notifications Bar

Borrowing from the BlackBerry® 6 OS’ “Today View”, the notifications bar offers an easy way to access your Facebook Notifications, Messages, Friend Requests and Chats from anywhere in the Facebook application.

External Notifications

You don’t have to leave the Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones app to see what’s new on your device. The BlackBerry smartphone external notifications header lets you see when you’ve received a new email message or BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) message without having to leave the Facebook application.

New Profile UI and Profile Information Viewing

The New Profile UI now provides Wall, Info, and Photo tabs for an even better browsing experience. New to v2.0 is the ability to view key information on Profiles and Pages, such as contact info, basic info like birthdays, hometown and relationship status, and likes and interests.

Head over to BlackBerry Beta Zone today to be one of the first users to join the beta for Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0! As this is an early preview, we have a limited number of beta spots open. Also, please note the initial beta release will be available for BlackBerry 6 users only, but support for BlackBerry® Device Software 4.6 and higher will be added in subsequent beta releases and will be available in the official version.

Try it out and let us know what you think!

Today, I’m excited to announce the availability of a new version of Facebook® for BlackBerry® smartphones through BlackBerry Beta Zone. (Make sure to sign up for a Beta Zone account to try out v1.9!) We continually strive to improve the ‘Facebook for BlackBerry’ experience – in v1.8 we focused on optimizing the speed and performance of the application; now in V.1.9 we are adding more Facebook features that BlackBerry smartphone fans have been asking for.

Here are a few examples of what’s new in Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v1.9:

Dedicated Inbox

You’ve been asking for the ability to view just your Facebook messages, so we’ve now added options on how and where you can view your Facebook messages to help you more easily manage your Facebook communications. We now offer two different ways to view your Facebook messages:

1. The Facebook Messages view lets you see only your Facebook messages in one inbox.
2. If you prefer to have all of your messages in one place you can set up your Facebook messages to appear within your BlackBerry Messages inbox.

Also, as part of these new views, the app pre-fetches 30 of your existing Facebook messages in order to pre-populate your inbox with your existing messages when you first log in!

With v.1.9 the Facebook Messages inbox on your BlackBerry smartphone are now also synchronized with your inbox on the web, so deleted and opened items now stay in sync. Once you’ve logged in, Facebook for BlackBerry will continue to leverage our unique BlackBerry Push service to keep messages updated. The end goal is an integrated email interface that looks as much like your everyday Facebook inbox as possible!

Facebook Search

With Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v1.9, you can use the new Facebook Search function to search Facebook for individual people and pages. From the results that your query brings back, depending on the privacy settings, you can view mutual friends, enlarge profile photos (so you know for sure that a person really is your old high-school friend!), and send a request to add them as a friend.

If you’re searching for a Page, you can choose to “Like it” to start following when it’s updated.

Another nifty feature in v1.9 for BlackBerry® 6 users is that Facebook Search is tied into the system’s integrated Universal Search, so if you search your BlackBerry smartphone for a query, Universal Search will also pull in results from Facebook!

Friends List, Page List, Updated Navigation Bar

In addition to the features listed above, we’ve also worked to make sure that the Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones app looks easy to use – and functions as smoothly as possible. To this end, we’ve optimized the Friends List to add profile photos of your friends and have made it possible to view pages in list form. We’ve also updated the navigation bar so you can view your profile, and add new icons for Facebook search and Message view.

Now that we’ve piqued your interest, go and sign up for the beta, but don’t wait too long as there are a limited number of spots available for the beta program. We’ll give you a bit of a teaser and confirm that the full release of Facebook for BlackBerry smartphone v1.9 will also include Facebook Places and additional UI updates. Stay tuned for more announcements!

In the meantime, what would you like to see in future versions? We know you’d like to see Facebook Chat and we are actively working toward including this in a future version – any other features or improvements you can think of? Please leave a comment and let us know!