After using my old half croaked Nokia phone for THREE whole years, my dad finally got me a blackberry in dec! As expected I was really elated and over the moon about it. Sadly, I must admit I am not a tech junkie, in fact I think I am quite the opposite, I think I am a tech noob...



So anyway being the tech noob that I am, it took me quite a while to figure out all the functions of my new NEARLY-smarter-than-me smartphone. So while having fun discovering and playing with my new toys functions and applications, I stumbled upon the blackberry messenger (BBM) service.





-side track- some background information about myself, I hardly ever use my MSN whenever I am on the computer because I did not see a need to use it.

Initially while I added my friends to my BBM contact list, I was skeptical and thought to myself "Why am I going through this whole huge hassle, trying to get my friend's PINs and adding them when i can simply just send them an SMS? After all my new student plan allowed for unlimited SMSs."



BUT IT WAS ALL WORTH IT. BBM has got to be one of the coolest applications on a blackberry! I love using it because:

1. Format: I can easily view the entire thread of the conversation I was having. I tend to have the bad habit of forgetting what I just asked the person and hence when the person replies, the replies makes no sense unless i slowly scroll through my sent messages and inbox to find out where I left off in the conversation. So using my BBM totally eliminates this problem! Little things like that make me so happy, life's gooood!!! Haha..

2. The little D and R in the corner: Ever wondered if the person you sent a message to has read it but chose to ignore it, thus making you wait only forever by the phone for a reply? HA. With the BBM, one can now know if the recipient has read your message and chosen to reply, or not. Once a message is sent out through the BBM, a little nondescript D will appear on the top left hand corner. This means your message has been delivered and your friends blackberry's light is flashing nonstop in an attempt to get the owner's attention. Once your friend has read the message, the D will change into a R! So you will know if someone has chosen to ignore/reply you later/is busy/has more important things than reply your just as important message. Heh heh.



3. Sharing files and pics: BBM allows you to do this! No guys allowed in the changing rooms? No problem, just snap a picture of yourself in that new dress you are thinking of getting and send it to him. As everything is in real-time, he will be able to receive the picture straight away and let you know if you look fat or not. Hence helping you make that all important decision on if you should get another $100 dress which you know you don't really need...

4. Talking/sharing with multiple contacts at once: So much easier to organize events and pass messages around now! Just type once, click send, and everyone will receive the message and be able to see each others comments.

5. FREE: And the best part is that it is all FREE. (don't count the data plan charges la)

So being curious (and wanting to make sure the smartphone is not smarter than me), I checked out the blackberry website to find out all the cool functions of the BBM.
Here is the website for you to check it out (and then also get a blackberry so that my BBM contact list doesn't look so pathetic). Go to this page to find out more about the BBM features and system requirements.
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/features/im/blackberry_messenger.jsp

SO WHAT'S YOUR PIN? ADD ME.