Tag Archives: InstantMessaging

BBM Channels launches today for BlackBerry smartphones

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BBM Channels for BlackBerry

BlackBerry's tentative step into the world of feed-based social networking, BBM Channels, is at last leaving beta. As of 3PM Eastern, those with BlackBerry 10 and classic BlackBerry OS devices can use the Tumblr-like service for themselves, subscribing to content feeds from both major providers and their friends. Android and iOS users, meanwhile, will have to sit tight -- BlackBerry says that Channels support for their platforms is arriving in the "coming months."

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Source: CrackBerry

BitTorrent teases decentralized chat client in the wake of security breaches

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DNP BitTorrent teases decentralized chat client in the wake of security breaches

Today, BitTorrent announced it's building a private instant messaging client for our post-PRISM world. The firm told CNET that BitTorrent Chat should function like the company's other peer-to-peer services, using a form of torrenting's decentralized technology-approach that's been adapted for real-time communications. And while compatibility with other IM protocols is expected in the future, for now it's exclusive to BitTorrent account holders. You can even apply for an invite into the pre-alpha at the BitTorrent Labs site -- if you're so inclined, that is.

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Via: CNET

Source: BitTorrent Blog

BlackBerry pauses BBM rollout for Android and iOS following leak

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BBM for Android and iOS

We hope you weren't scheduling your weekend around the launch of BBM for Android and iOS, as BlackBerry has paused the rollout following a leak of the Android version. There were too many simultaneous users, the company says; with over 1.1 million active clients in the first eight hours, the messaging service just wasn't ready to handle the load. There's no mention of when the BBM deployment will continue, although BlackBerry is disabling the unofficial Android build to prevent future problems. Unless you grabbed BBM's iOS version in the first several hours, you'll just have to be patient.

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Source: Inside BlackBerry

Windows 8.1 to ship with Skype pre-installed

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Windows 81 to ship with Skype preinstalled

We already suspected that Windows and Skype were going to get particularly cozy after Microsoft phased out Messenger, but it's now official: Windows 8.1 will ship with Skype pre-installed. Those who haven't already downloaded the messaging client will get it when they upgrade their OS (or buy a Windows 8.1 PC) after October. The move won't change much for existing Skype users, but it could easily lead to a jump in Skype adoption when the app will soon come bundled with the majority of PCs.

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Source: Windows Experience Blog

Rounds updates video chat app, lets users browse the web together (video)

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Rounds updates video chat app, lets users browse the web together video

Rounds is doing the rounds (natch!) this morning with a significant update to its video calling and instant messaging app. The company teamed up with Channel.me to add co-browsing to an already broad list of features. Users can now browse the web together during a video chat and see / control the same page at the same time. In terms of security, the experience mimics two people surfing the web in the same location (usernames are visible but passwords are hidden. for example). While users can enter any URL, the app also includes an icon grid of compatible sites, such as Google (for search), Wikipedia, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, Amazon and eBay -- to name a few. As a refresher, Rounds lets friends watch YouTube videos and play games together during a video chat and even apply filters and scribble over each-others live video streams. It also supports instant messaging and photo sharing and ties it all together with Facebook Login. The app is available for most Android and iOS devices but is optimized to run on phones. Hit the break for the promo video and obligatory PR.

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Nokia Chat 1.1 beta sends contacts to other Lumias through NFC

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Nokia Chat 11 beta lets friends send contacts through NFC

While chat apps excel at adding contacts from the online world, they don't cope so well with real life -- reciting and typing screen names isn't very elegant. Nokia is bringing back some of those social graces with its Nokia Chat 1.1 beta, which revolves around NFC transfers. If both friends own NFC-equipped Lumia phones, they can tap to exchange their own details, other contacts or even the app itself. It's also easier to share locations: contacts with Lumias will see a Here Maps-based preview of any given place. These additions don't make as much sense outside of an all-Nokia ecosystem, but there's certainly enough for existing users to upgrade at the source link.

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Via: Nokia Beta Labs, WMPoweruser

Source: Windows Phone Store

Nokia Chat beta messaging app released for WP8, is exclusive to Lumias

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Nokia Chat beta messaging app released for WP8, is exclusive to Lumias

One of the benefits of buying a Windows Phone 8 handset with a Nokia stamp is the exclusive apps, and today we can add another to that list with the beta release of Nokia Chat for WP8. The software started life on Symbian and Series 40 devices before falling out of favor with Nokia, but this WP8 refresh enables cross-platform chatter between those older phones, the newer Lumia range and, as Yahoo Messenger contacts are supported, anything running that IM client, too. In addition to standard messaging, you can share your location with others, and send details about a specific place -- a restaurant, for example -- that'll link with Nokia Maps on Lumias for more info. (That sounds an awful lot like Nokia's other beta messaging app Pulse, doesn't it?) Other Lumia-only features in Nokia Chat include Live Tile and lock screen push notifications, Live Tile message previews, voice commands and text-to-speech composition. Nokia Chat beta is only available in a handful of countries right now, including the US, Canada and the UK, with more being added "in the near future." Head over to the Nokia Beta Labs source link to try it out.

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Via: WMPoweruser

Source: Nokia Beta Labs (1), (2)

Microsoft now starting wider transition from Messenger to Skype on April 8th

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Messenger Skype transition

It turns out that Microsoft's planned March 15th transition from Messenger to Skype is more of a soft target than a hard cutoff. Microsoft will switch off desktop Messenger that day only for a "test group," the company tells ZDNet; if all goes smoothly, the transition will start in earnest with English-speaking countries on April 8th. Every desktop user should be off the boat by April 30th. Messenger will still work on mobile devices, as well as in multi-network clients like Adium or Trillian, but that's not expected to last long -- and it might get quite lonely. Most of us ultimately get a slight reprieve, but the writing is most definitely on the wall.

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Source: Skype (Twitter), ZDNet

Microsoft retiring Messenger on March 15th, wants you to use Skype instead

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Microsoft retiring Messenger on March 15th, wants you to use Skype instead

While we knew Microsoft Messenger was due to retire sometime in the first quarter of this year, we now have a confirmed date. According to The Next Web, Redmond has informed users via email that they have until March 15th to use the IM platform, after which they will need to hop on to Skype to chat with their Messenger pals. Your buddy list will automatically be migrated to the VoIP-focused offering. Desktop users of the outgoing service (globally except mainland China, where it will live on) should receive a banner notification to install Skype and, as it turns out, clicking on said banner will also uninstall Messenger. Road warriors are also taken care of, with Microsoft account support already baked into iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8 versions of the Skype app. Nostalgia notwithstanding, fans of the long-standing MSN descendent can at least take solace in the broader set of features Skype offers.

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Via: The Next Web

Skype for Windows Phone update ‘temporarily’ kills People Hub integration

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DNP Skype for Windows Phone update 'temporarily' kills People Hub

Earlier this week Microsoft updated its Skype for Windows Phone application. Making good on its plans to retire Messenger, users can now IM their buddy list from within the app. In addition, the new software push adds the ability to receive calls and messages while Skype is closed, but the changelog cautions that this feature is a "work-in-progress." While we welcome these new features with open arms, they come at somewhat of a steep price. Skype 2.1.0.241 "temporarily" kills the app's integration with Windows Phone's People Hub. Something that Microsoft plans to patch up via another update at an undisclosed time. If you can get past losing such a prominent feature for the sake of being up to date, then head on over to the Windows Phone Store to claim your 8MB prize.

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Via: CNET, GeekWire

Source: Microsoft