After a not so successful run with BB OS 10 and a short-lived hype from a cross-platform BBM, BlackBerry is trying to stick to one of the things it does best – enterprise solutions. Today, the company announced a new version of BBM that’s designed for businesses and government offices that require a secure means of communication.

The app is called BBM Protected and currently works with devices running on BB OS 6.0 and above or BB OS 10 devices in regulated mode. Part of BlackBerry’s eBBM (enterprise) solutions, BBM Protected offers businesses with peace of mind knowing that their communication lines are covered with a thick layer of protection.

BBM Protected uses a new layer of encryption to the existing BBM security model with both sender and recipient having a unique encryption key that makes it difficult for hackers to decrypt an entire conversation. Moreover, the app allows users from different BB Enterprise services to send messages securely.

As mentioned above the app will only work for BlackBerry handset users. So those using BBM on Android and iOS may have to wait a bit more for the version of BBM Protected to reach their handsets.

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Mobile messaging apps are making a lot of news these past few days. Apart from Facebook’s $16 billion acquisition of WhatsApp, BBM and Facebook Messenger are getting some buzz.

For starters, BlackBerry announced that it’s going to update its popular messaging app – BBM with a number of features in the very near future including the ability to send pictures and large files (up to 16MB from 6MB) to contacts or groups.

Meanwhile, Facebook Messenger has now reached the Windows Phone Store.

The app brings most of the functionality of its other iterations on Android and iOS namely the ability to easily access messages, sending photos and stickers privately, group conversations and the ability to see the location information of other people.

The app will also allow users to see if the people they’re talking too has already seen their messages. It can also tell users who is active on the network. There’s also an option to turn off notifications during specific times of the day.

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Back in November, BlackBerry announced Channels on BBM for BlackBerry OS 10 devices, which allowed users to receive updates from various content providers aside from the people in their contact lists.

This week, the Channels feature arrived on BBM for iOS and Android. BBM Channels allows users to chat about topics with other BBM users much like commenting on a post in a Facebook page. And if that’s not enough, the update to BBM will now provide support for Voice calls.

Other notable features coming with the update include improved integration with Dropbox, Glympse location sharing and expanded BBM groups.

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BlackBerry is holding on to dear life these past few months, but it isn’t about to throw in the towel just yet. The Canadian smartphone manufacturer today has started rolling out an update to its proprietary system that is powering its current line of smartphones.

The BlackBerry OS 10.2.1 update brings new features and enhancements to the BlackBerry platform that is meant to make the BlackBerry experience easier and more convenient.

Photo Credits: BlackBerries.ru

Heading the list of new features is an optimized BlackBerry Hub which can now filter messages through a custom pinch gesture allowing users to easily sort messages and emails in the hub.

BlackBerry has also added several useful features on the phone lockscreen such as actionable notifications and picture-password for easy unlocking. Toggles and quick-access settings have also been implemented in the settings menu enabling users to easily change some of the phones settings including brightness control and network connections.

There’s also an offline browser reader mode, a device and battery monitor, a new option that allows users to choose the sync source of their contacts, automatic software updates, Enterprise features and an FM radio.

The BlackBerry OS 10.2.1 update is now rolling out to BlackBerry 10 smartphones in the US, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. As with other updates, the roll out will be done in phases and will be subject to carrier approvals.

In other news, the Canadian company has also announced today that it will soon release a version of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) that supports phones running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. This means that users with older phones should also be able to use the company’s instant messaging app once it is released.

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BlackBerry recently rolled out an update for its instant messaging app for Android and iOS. The update was designed to bring several new features to the app, fix some known bugs and provide support to more devices.

For starters, the update now provides support for other iOS devices, specifically iPads and iPods running on iOS 6 and iOS7. In terms of additional features, users will now be able to sort contacts into different categories. Moreover, BlackBerry has given BBM users more options to share their BBM Pin Barcode as well as the ability to find their friends on other social networks who are also using BBM.

As for bug fixes, the update will fix the issue where some Android users have experienced higher battery use as well as the issue in iOS where some users would be missing BBM contact names.

The update is now available on Google Play as well as on Apple iTunes App store.

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Looks like BlackBerry isn’t planning to lose all that momentum that BBM for Android and iPhone generated these past few days as it now announced another downloadable goodie by the name of the BlackBerry OS 10.2.

The update is designed for the Canadian smartphone maker’s most recent devices including the BlackBerry Z10, Q10 and Q5. It will bring new features to these handsets including a new Priority Hub, BBM Video with Natural Sound feature, messages previews from any app, a better keyboard and calendar app, easier sharing options, lockscreen notifications and the ability to reject calls with an SMS/BBM option.

The new mobile operating system which was first leaked in July will start rolling out this week for Africa, Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe and the Middle East. Latin America and North America on the other hand will receive the update in November and December respectively.

Users with carrier-locked devices may have to wait a bit more as the update will be delivered through their networks. For those with unlocked devices, the update will pop up in the notifications section of the BlackBerry Hub. Users can also check the System settings menu and look for software updates.

Meanwhile, BlackBerry is also celebrating the success of the release of BBM for Android and iOS as the instant messaging app has just reached over 10 million downloads in its first 24 hours. According to BlackBerry the app has become the top app in more than 75 countries including US, Canada, UK, Indonesia and most of the Middle East. Moreover, BBM for Android and iOS has earned over 60,000 five-star reviews on Google Play from around 87,000 users.

BlackBerry is expected to bring Voice and video calling, as well as a new feature called “BBM channels” in future updates of the app.

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After a failed first release, BlackBerry has now resumed the roll out of BlackBerry Messenger for iPhone and Android.

The app is now available for download on Google Play and Apple’s App store but BlackBerry is implementing a queue system, possibly to prevent server issues due to high traffic and download volume. Those who signed up for early notification of the app’s availability will get to use the service first (especially true for iPhone users).

 Here's what to do to get past the line-up:

• Visit BBM.com from your iPhone or Android browser to download BBM.
• Once the BBM app has been installed, open it.
• When asked to "Enter your email address to check if you can start using BBM", use the email address this message was sent to.
• Get started with setting up BBM. 

BlackBerry Messenger is compatible with devices running on Android 4.0 and iOS6 or higher (tablets are yet to be supported though). The app of course uses data either through those provided by telcos or via Wi-Fi. 

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