Cross Platform IM App Hookt now available for BlackBerry, Android and iPhone smartphones

Posted by Ray Nicolini

Hookt is another cross platform instant messaging application which has made its way to BlackBerry smartphones now.  By now, you’ve noticed that there has been plenty of cross platform messenger applications out there.  It all comes down to which everyone hears about and downloads right?  To be honest the user interface for Hookt looks pretty cool and easy to use.  .I’m not exactly sure how many users are on Hookt, but it’s worth a try and is certainly free to download.  Hookt supported BlackBerry, iOS, Android, and webOS. 

Download Hookt for BlackBerry >>

WhatsApp for BlackBerry gets refreshed, here’s a first look

Posted By Ray Nicolini

Via www.BGR.com

The most popular and successful multi-device communication platform is without question WhatsApp. More of a text messaging replacement than straight BlackBerry Messenger competitor, WhatsApp has been the number one service people rely on to communicate across iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone devices. We were sent a preview copy of the new version of WhatsApp for BlackBerry smartphones, our exclusive first look is after the break.To start, the entire app’s user interface has been refreshed, and it really looks strong. It’s clean, it’s sophisticated, and it’s one of the better interfaces on a BlackBerry product that we’ve seen. The app contains the same basic 5 tabs that you’re used to — chats, favorites, contacts, status, and settings — but it’s done in a way that feels natural and light. There’s a really intuitive context button on the right of the top tab bar, and it changes based on what tab you’re on. If you’re in the chats tab, the button changes to allow you to start a new chat, if you’re on the favorites tab, it changes to refresh favorites button, a search option on the contacts tab, add a status on the status tab, and add a friend on the settings tab.

I have noticed a couple little issues using this pre-release version on my BlackBerry 9900, though. The touch area for the tab buttons at the top of the interface are a tad small and I have tapped a contact’s name and started a chat instead of changing to the tab I aimed to switch to. Additionally, the rows that list your favorites or contacts are very narrow, and while that works fine for navigation with the trackpad, not the best possible spacing for touch selection.

All in all, the app gets a very welcome refresh, and the best multi-platform communication service gets even better. It should be available tomorrow directly from WhatsApp’s beta site, and in BlackBerry App World soon after.

 ”Our current UI for BlackBerry is something only an engineer could love. With this update, we’ve had a designer who has no knowledge of BlackBerry UI difficulties mock up new screens for every part of the app.  It has then been our engineering challenge to make those mockups reality across the wide range of BlackBerry devices available.  When we started, it looked very challenging to make these screens happen, said Michael Donohue, Senior BlackBerry Engineer of WhatsApp, This is truly a great UI for BlackBerry.”

 ”WhatsApp wants consumers to have the ability to message easily, intuitively to that degree we have overhauled the UI, making it simple, clean and easy to use. Our overall commitment to product quality and continued improvement to the BlackBerry is important to us, it is a great messaging device and we are fully committed to supporting the consumers who use it, said Jan Koum, CEO, WhatsApp.”

Meebo for BlackBerry beta launching today

Via www.bberrydog.com

By Ray Nicolini

Good news for all instant messaging freaks out there. Meebojust launched their Meebo app for BlackBerry in beta today. Advertised as “the app that keeps you connected” it really keeps you connected to a lot of communication networks, including AIM, Yahoo!, Google, even Facebook and more.

Within the app you get two tabs – Buddies and Chats – to get easy and simple access to everything you need. You can manage your accounts while mobile and if you’re already using the desktop version, it will automatically adapt to all your settings and transition active conversations to your Mobile device.

Sounds really great and there’s even more. The app looks really good and well-designed. It supports the BlackBerry Torch 9800 and, best of all, it’s free. You’ll need a Meebo account to use the app but you can register straight from the app.

Feel free to try here and make sure to leave us comment on wether you like or dislike the app.