Considering the Features of Blackberry Messenger - Report Example

BLACKBERRY MESSENGER Student by name Institution Course Professor Date Blackberry messenger With the advent of mobile telephony and the integration of the internet with mobile phones, there are various applications that have been developed to facilitate communication via the internet using mobile phones (Trautschold et al 2010, pg. 58). Examples of these mobile phone applications include: Message Me, WhatsApp and Blackberry Messenger (BBM). Blackberry Messenger is an internet-based instant messenger application that incorporates videophony and is found in Blackberry mobile devices. It facilitates instant messaging and video calls between Blackberry users. This application was developed by Research In Motion, the manufacturer of Blackberry Smartphones. WhatsApp is a cross-platform application that allows instant messaging between Smartphone users. With WhatsApp, users can send videos, picture and audio messages. WhatsApp software is available for android, Blackberry, iOS, Windows phone and Symbian. Message Me is a new iOS and Android application that facilitates group and individual messaging. Blackberry Messenger uses the phone’s internet connection. Wi-fi connection can also be used to send messages. It is also possible to sign in to BBM if the user has a Blackberry data plan (Trautschold & Mazo 2010, pg. 102). Through BBM, Blackberry users can exchange messages individually or in groups in one session. With Blackberry 5.0, users can utilize the QR code to add friends to their friend’s lists instead of the usual numeric PIN identification or an email address linked with the user’s mobile device. The most recent Blackberry smartphones can allow users to exchange contacts using near Field Communication Technology (Kao & Sarigumba 2011, pg 74). Users can also send locations on a map, various emoticons, and files and make video calls over the mobile network or Wi-Fi (Trautschold et al 2010, pg. 93). Blackberry 6.0 has additional features, which are focused on social communication platforms such as BBM connected applications that facilitate users to invite friends to share their favorite Blackberry applications. Another feature that was introduced with Blackberry 7.0 is voice chat, also referred to as BBM voice call. BBM 7.0.1 allows users to chat freely with their contacts. They can also switch seamlessly from a BBM conversation to a BBM voice call everywhere in the world using Wi-Fi without being charged anything. The new features that are contained in Blackberry Messenger 7.0.1 include: various types of emoticons that are integrated, free calls over Wi-Fi and ability to function on operating system 5, 6, 7.0 and 7.1. With version 7, users can start the conversation by texting and then change to voice call if necessary. Users can also know when their contacts are available for chat. During the launch of the voice call using the applications Beta, the company reported that users positively received the new feature. Many of the early users reported that they will use the voice call feature while travelling. Considering that a majority of BBM users have foreign contacts, this new feature will be useful for people communicating internationally because it will save money and time (Russell & Cohn 2012, pg. 71). Version seven has addition features such as a split screen that allows users to juggle multiple tasks such as calling, emailing and texting without having to move from one screen to the other. Users are also updated when a new version is available. They are able to download the version without having to discard the application. When a user migrates from one version to the other, their contacts, BBM profiles and groups are linked to their Blackberry identification; therefore they can restore or back up to the new application. Since version seven supports Blackberry smartphones operating on Blackberry 6 and higher, the company started providing support for Blackberry 5 this year to ensure that all Blackberry users can access the latest version of BBM. The free update can be downloaded for free by BBM users via Blackberry Application World. There are various groups of people who use BBM. International travelers use BBM because they can make free voice calls using the provider’s network or via a Wi-Fi-connection. Individuals who have foreign contacts use BBM because the voice call feature will allow them to save money and time. Since BBM allows creation of group contacts, it is suitable social networking tool which users can create contacts of family members, friends and cow-workers (Mabe 2009, pg. 61). This makes BBM a Blackberry application that can be used by all groups of people. BBM can also be used by small businesses because the small business context in becoming more decentralized; therefore, the mobile applications can facilitate communication with business partners, connection with clients, organization of task and completion of work (Trautschold & Mazo 2010, pg. 83). The advantage of BBM to small businesses is that it is free. The main advantages of Blackberry messenger are its uptime and dependability. The only instance that the service was unavailable was when an outage occurred in Research In Motion headquarters in the United Kingdom in 2011. Blackberry users in North America, Middle East, Africa and Europe were severely affected. But generally, BBM is a reliable application to use (Russell & Cohn 2012, pg. 127). The key features of BBM that sets apart from other applications are many. With the latest Blackberry Smartphone, users can make video call via Wi-Fi or the mobile provider’s network. Through BBM, users can send and receive messages without any restriction on its length (Kao & Sarigumba 2011, 136). It is also possible to customize the BBM display and picture. The application confirms when messages are delivered and read. By Scanning QR codes and using NFC technology, or sharing of pins, users can add contacts to the BBM contact list. With BBM, users can share their locations, photos and videos with many contacts simultaneously. The application facilitates the creation of groups, where users can chat or discuss photos and other stuff. Sharing of music files is also possible through this mobile application. The latest upgrade of BBM contains new sixteen emoticons, BBM voice that facilitates talk or text and Blackberry identification integration. The main competitor to BBM is WhatsApp, which has the main advantage of being a cross-platform instant messaging application with client software available for operating systems of leading smartphones. The client software for BBM is only available for Blackberry smartphones. The exclusivity of BBM to Blackberry phones is founded on the fact that users can only create a distinct alphanumeric personal identification number that is assigned to an individual Blackberry device. BBM users can add contacts by keying the pin, phone number or by typing the name or email address (Russell & Cohn 2012, pg. 88). Users can also add contacts by taking a snapshot of another device’s distinct barcode. On the other hand, WhatsApp users can simply type the mobile number of the other user. BBM has fully customizable features such as emoticons, profile pictures, setting statuses and threaded chat interface that can be viewed by contacts. The other main advantage of BBM is that it is free when Blackberry internet service is available. This sets it apart from other instant messaging applications. WhatsApp has the superior advantage of working on different platforms, which allows users to reach more people compared to BBM. The application is also free of charge because it can use the mobile network’s internet or Wi-Fi. It is also possible to send videos, audio messages and photos via this application. Another feature of this application is that users can send their locations to contacts by using GPS technology. Through this application, adding contacts is simple because it can be done by automatically searching the phonebook for users who are using the WhatsApp application. Since its inception, WhatsApp has been faced with many security breaches. One of these is the fact that messages sent via WhatsApp are not encrypted. Despite the fixing of this security hole, the measures implemented have been termed by security researchers as broken. There is also the security issue where a hacker can change the status of a WhatsApp user if their number is known. The company reported to have resolved the security breach, but the only measure was blocking the hacker’s website IP address, which means that the hacker can use another website to compromise the security of WhatsApp (Russell & Cohn 2012, pg. 90). A German technology site, The H showed in 2011 how to hijack a WhatsApp account, which means that this application is not secure. The requirement by whatsApp that its users upload their entire phonebook addresses to their servers for them to determine who among the contacts is available through WhatsApp can lead to a privacy concern (Russell & Cohn 2012, pg. 129). Considering the features of BBM, the application has various advantages over other instant messaging applications. Through BBM, users can manage their login and contacts the same way if they were using instant messaging application in their personal computer. Users can be notified by a particular ringtone or vibration when a new message arrives from a specific person, which means that users can customize messages for specific individuals in their contact addresses. Through BBM, users can converse real-time with friends and colleagues in different locations. They can also converse with several people simultaneously. When traveling, BBM users can receive unlimited number of messages for free with no per-message charges. BBM users do not have to ask for the mobile phone number of other users because they can request for the pin code or scan it to add into their contact list. With BBM, there is unlimited inbox capacity, meaning that users can retrieve old messages. They can also set a customized status showing their availability in BBM. Despite its advantages, BBM is also associated with various disadvantages. One of its main disadvantages is that it allows communication with other Blackberry users. Its enterprise server that was launched in 2004 is not compatible with other instant messaging programs since it functions differently. It is also not possible to send an instant message to other users unless their PIN code is known. This is an eight digit alphanumeric code that is unique to each Blackberry device. Another disadvantage of this instant messaging application is that during conversation, the Research In Motion server is involved in the same way as sending or receiving emails since the message passes the servers as exchange messages (Mabe 2009, pg. 72). This implies that users cannot use BBM unless they have a Blackberry internet plan, also known as a data plan. Reference list Kao, R., & Sarigumba, D., 2011, Blackberry for dummies, Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons. Kao, R., & Sarigumba, D., 2011, BlackBerry Pearl 3G for dummies, Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Mabe, D.,2009, BlackBerry Hacks: Tips & Tools for Your Mobile Office, Sebastopol: O'Reilly Media, Inc. Russell, J. & Cohn, R., 2012, Blackberry Messenger, New York: Book on Demand. Trautschold, M., & Mazo, G., 2010, BlackBerry Curve made simple: For the BlackBerry Curve 8520, 8530, and 8500 series, New York: Apress. Trautschold, M., Andres, C., Anglin, S., Beckner, M., Buckingham, E., Cornell, G., Gennick, J., Welsh, T., 2010, BlackBerry Bold Made Simple: For the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and 9650 Series, Berkeley, CA: Gary Mazo, Martin Trautschold. Read More