BlackBerry Releases BBM Version 2.2 update for Android, iOS

While the planet goes gaga over the likes of WhatsApp or Hike, nobody can really deny the kind of presence BlackBerry made with its BBM service. and now it seems like the app for the Android and iOS has received a brand new update.

According to reports, BlackBerry has now rolled out a brand new update to its popular BBM messaging app on Android and iOS platforms. While the BBM version 2.2 is available via the Google Play store, iOS users will be getting it over the next few days.

The new update, as expected, brings over a lot of new features to the app for Android and iOS. For starters, the app now offers a more easy sign up. "We've cut down the number of fields it takes to get signed up, so you can start chatting and sharing even faster. Name. Email. Password. That's all you need to get started on BBM," the official blog states.

Apart from that, there have been new improvements made to the way users add a new contact to their list of friends. While the current process could be quite a "cumbersome and complicated" process, the new release aims to simplify the process so that when users receive a BBM invite by email, all they will ever need to do is click the link. There's no need to send a PIN invite back.

Moreover, with the new update in place, there will be as many as 16 new BBM emoticons "from a hotdog, and maracas, to a hacker and a pair of hot lips."

"We've also re-named what you know today as the ‘Updates' tab...We've changed the name to ‘Feeds' to better represent what you find there - the latest statuses and profile photos from your BBM contacts and the newest posts from the BBM Channels you follow," the post adds.