By now I’m sure you’ve noticed that BBM social networking has been popular for quite some time now.  First it started off as websites you can join where you link with other BBM users and exchange PINs.  Now it’s taken to the next level where users are able to download third party applications, and even have them connected to BBM thanks to the BBM Social Platform released this year.  PinShare is another application which seems to be poppin’ in BlackBerry App World.  For those looking to get meet other folks on BBM, check it out.  It’s free to download!

PinShare for BBM >>

Last night it was discovered that BBM Canada was attempting to bring Research In Motion to court over the “BBM” trademark which the company is using.  Today RIM responds to the accusations with this official statement:

“Since its launch in July 2005, BlackBerry Messenger has become a tremendously popular social networking service. In 2010, RIM started to formally adopt the BBM acronym, which had, at that point, already been organically coined and widely used by BlackBerry Messenger customers as a natural abbreviation of the BlackBerry Messenger name. The services associated with RIM’s BBM offering clearly do not overlap with BBM Canada’s services and the two marks are therefore eligible to co-exist under Canadian trademark law. The two companies are in different industries and have never been competitors in any area. We believe that BBM Canada is attempting to obtain trademark protection for the BBM acronym that is well beyond the narrow range of the services it provides and well beyond the scope of rights afforded by Canadian trademark law. RIM has therefore asked the Court to dismiss the application and award costs to RIM. Further, for clarity, RIM’s application to register BBM as a trademark with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is pending and we are confident that a registration will eventually issue. The inference by BBM Canada that CIPO has refused RIM’s BBM trademark application is quite frankly very misleading.”

So there it is! RIM has a pending application to register “BBM” as a trademark at the moment.  Nice to see RIM put their foot down on this one, rather than eat the bullet and have to change a name of their product as we saw with BlackBerry 10.

It’s not like RIM has nothing on its plate now.  So far the company has had a terrible year which is close to coming to an end and hopefully will bloom into a better 2012.  First RIM had to change “BBX” to “BlackBerry 10” due to copyright infringement, and now the “BBM” trademark is next.  A company called BBM Canada is complaining that they keep receiving calls and emails from BlackBerry customers in regards to BBM issues and general inquiries.

According to The Globe and Mail, RIM was contacted by BBM Canada several times on the matter but they have been ignored, so a court hearing has been scheduled for January 11, 2012.  Now we wait to see what happens.  What’s next?

Source: MobileSyrup

RIM announced this morning that any users who download(ed) BBM Music December 16th to January 4th will get four free months of BBM Music. Might be disappointing for some of you that had the app way before but a great offer for new users. Head over to BlackBerry App World and download BBM Music to get your free holiday offer!

Earlier today a new beta version of BBM 6.1 has been made available in BlackBerry Beta Zone.  The last update brought us up to 6.1 adding new smileys, different colored chat bubbles for specific contacts and more.  There doesn’t seem to be a change log on this one, but if you spot anything new let us know!

Download from Beta Zone >>

Browsing via BlackBerry? Click here to view video

Yesterday we gave you a look at the new BlackBerry Curve commercial which featured bicyclists using the 9350/9360/9370 to locate each other via apps such as Wikitude and the native Facebook app.  Today is a testimonial BBM Hero video of actual bicyclists who use BBM for meetups.  The Curve doesn’t seem to be the device of choice here as I spy a BlackBerry Bold 9700..

BlackBerry Messenger got a nice update today to version 6.1.  Although it’s a beta, you should be quite excited to see what’s in store.  This almost feels as exciting as v5.0 launching or maybe even more.  In this beta update we see new features including animated avatars, 12 new emoticons, and more!  Here’s some highlights from the change log:

• Animated avatars* – Now you can access a selection of animated GIFs that come alive when you hover over the avatar. Three animated avatars are available as part of the beta as a sneak peak (including a ‘smile’, ‘laughter’ and ‘in love’) – with a greater selection to come at launch. You can access avatars when changing your display picture within the Avatars folder and can source your own animated GIFs
• 12 new emoticons – Add to the range of expressions available to enhance your conversations with12 new emoticons to choose from.
• Personal Message size increased to 160 characters – We’ve doubled the size of the personal message space to 160 characters. The previous limit was 80 characters.
• Colored chat bubbles – Customize the color of chat bubbles with 10 colors to choose from. You can pre-assign these colors to your contacts by simply going into your BBM contacts’ profile and selecting the desired contact chat color from the palette.
• Camera / Avatar Integration – Now you can update your BBM avatar right from the BlackBerry camera app by selecting “Set as BBM Display Picture” from the menu options.

Download BBM 6.1 >>

“There was a global Internet issue this morning that impacted a number of Internet Service Providers (ISP) around the world. RIM’s BlackBerry Infrastructure was not impacted however, some customers may have experienced delays with their ISP. RIM continues to monitor the situation.”

-RIM’s Official Statement

 

Looks like there have been  reports that some BlackBerry users have experienced a delay in or no email or BBM’s? So tell us, have you noticed any delays in emails or BBMs? RIM states it’s not them so everyone relax and blame the ISP!

For those who have seen it in Beta Zone. BBM 6.0.1 is now hitting the masses as RIM begins to roll it out today. This new version makes it easier for the over 50 million BBM users to discover and share BBM connected apps. Some of the BBM 6.0.1 Key Features include:

• Explore BBM-connected Apps - BBM users will now be able to pull up “Explore BBM-connected Apps” from a menu in the BBM Contacts screen, which starts a BlackBerry App World storefront search for “BBM” by redirecting users to a list of up to 25 of the most popular BBM-connected apps available.
• Sharing App Content with Your BBM Contacts is Easier - Users can share app-specific content with BBM contacts regardless of whether the contact has the app installed.
• Include BBM v5.0 users in application invites – Now users can now invite BBM v5.0 & BBM v6.0 contacts to join in the fun and share BBM-connected app experiences. Contacts using BBM5.0 will be prompted to download BBM6.0.

Head here to download the latest version of BBM6.

Head here for more information on the BBM6.0.1 Platform.

For more information about the BBM6.0 BBM Connected Apps, Check out this post from the BlackBerry Blog.

We got the news today that BBM Music was updated in BlackBerry Beta Zone today. The new version 1.0.0.124 brings a lot of new updates, and fixes. Below is the list of fixes, and updates that are included in this update, as well as an updated list of known issues with BBM Music.  Here’s the full change log below, or click here to download from Beta Zone.

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