Smartphone messenger now offers app integration

When it comes to the BlackBerry, there are two huge selling points, the email and the presence of BBM. That might well be challenged in the coming months with iMessage on the iPhone, but right now, it’s still top of the pile. Not least in its latest incarnation, BBM 6.

BBM is of course short for BlackBerry Messenger, RIM’s in-house instant messaging system. Don’t worry BBM fans, you can still do what you were doing before, essentially sending quickie one-liners to your mates, but the new version does extend BBM’s reach.

According to TechCrunch, BBM 6 offers app integration to developers, essentially meaning you can still access and use BBM whilst doing something else, sharing content or commenting in real time with those friends too presumably. BBM-integrated apps at launch include FourSquare, Score Mobile, Wikitude, and the Huffington Post app, but more will be coming once BBM 6 finds its way onto more smartphones. So theoretically, if the app makers play ball, you can be browsing the local cinema listings, whilst at the same time discussing what to watch, without leaving the app. Makes a lot of sense.

Obviously the make or break for this will be how many big-name developers jump on-board, especially if Apple has a similar idea. In the meantime, go grab BBM 6 for your phone from BlackBerry App World, it’s free for BlackBerry owners, so you’ve got nothing to lose.