14 DAY TRIAL // Following BlackBerry’s last week teaser concerning a new version of BBM that should arrive on all three major platforms (Android, BlackBerry and iOS), the Canadian company has announced that, starting today, a new update is available for download.
According to BlackBerry, BBM 2.1 is slowly rolled out to users via Google Play, App Store and BlackBerry World, so it might not be available in all regions at the same time.
Given the fact that developers have already detailed what new features BBM users should expect in this version, there are no surprises here.
The latest version of BBM has been confirmed to offer Stickers via BBM Shop. These are “larger, bolder and more expressive images than emoticons” and users can now add them to their BBM chats.
Keep in mind though that these Stickers don’t come for free, so you will need to purchase and download sticker packs from the new BBM Shop found in BBM if you want to benefit from this new feature.
“Stickers are another great example of how we’re making the BBM experience more engaging and fun for our customers. Stickers let you personalize your chats and strike the right chord with people around the world who rely on stickers in chats when they connect with colleagues, family, friends, peers and partners,” said David Proulx, senior director, BBM at BlackBerry.
BlackBerry has confirmed that these Stickers will be sold in packs containing between 20 and 25 pieces. These packs feature content developed by various artists or relating to a theme or a character like CosCat, Gilbert’s Tales or Bubble Bot, but they also feature content from popular brands including Shaun the Sheep and WWE.
There will be sticker packs available for free as well, but mostly they will cost $1.99, or an approximate equivalent amount in the local currency.
On a side note, BBM users will be pleased to know that WWE announced plans to give away a free sticker pack to its fans through BBM.
Aside from the new Stickers feature, the latest version of BBM comes with the ability to share photos in multi-person chats. BlackBerry states that these photos will be sent in the chat as thumbnails that can be opened to reveal the image in full size.
The file size limit of sent photos has been upped from 10MB to 16MB, which means that BBM users will now be able to send higher quality photos, videos and presentations.
You can now download BBM 2.1 for Android, iOS and BlackBerry via Google Play store, App Store and BlackBerry World for free. Keep in mind that this is a staged rollout, so it might take a few days until the update becomes available.