RIM… I’d love to slap you and say finally… Then hug you. BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 is now officially available on the BlackBerry App World. The BBM 5.0 works on any OS v4.5 and higher and  also works on v5.0.0.xxx OS beta leaks if any of you guys are running it. If you are currently running the BBM 5.0 beta leak. Download the official one at the app world. Then reboot your device and it should now show up. To those who forgot what the BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 hype is all about. Here’s a little feature list:



• Avatars can be easily set up and then populated from BlackBerry Contacts
• Group Functionality – allows groups of friends, family and personal contacts to stay connected & share experiences instantly on their BlackBerry smartphones:
• ongoing group chat
• sharing pictures
• organizing tasks and events with shared lists and calendars
• Bar-code identity – easily add/invite contacts to BlackBerry Messenger by displaying a 2-dimensional bar code that the invitees can capture with their BlackBerry camera
• Large Media File Transfer – up to 6MB

Download BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 From App World
or
Visit blackberry.com/blackberrymessenger from your BlackBerry mobile device.

Last month we told you about the new BlackBerry Messenger coming with OS 5.0. Yesterday links to the BlackBerry Messenger client leaked on the Internet for all recent BlackBerry devices, but people kept asking for OTA links. So our dude, 0mie over at 0mieTechSupport, made the downloads over the air and hooked it up! We decided to host them here as well, so feel free to visit our links from your BlackBerry Browser and it should prompt you to download it.

Please remember that this BlackBerry Messenger version is in beta and may still be buggy. We STRONGLY encourage you to backup your BlackBerry before upgrading. We can not be liable for any damages it may cause.

EDIT: DO NOT UPDATE IF YOU HAVE ANY OS LOWER THAN 4.5.0.131!

EDIT2: If you have any problems with this you must leave a comment with what BlackBerry you are using, and the OS you are running.

EDIT3: RIM seems to have enabled the Avatar feature today. If you still have trouble getting your Avatar seen, please attempt to re-upload your Avatar and/or restart your device.

EDIT4: Please follow this link if you wish to downgrade back to your original BBM. http://forums.crackberry.com/f86/how-can-i-downgrade-old-bbm-271634/

FINAL EDIT: The official BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 has been released by RIM. We recommend that you download this version instead of the beta versions. You can read about the official BBM here: http://smartphonenation.com/2009/10/blackberry-messenger-5-0-officially-available-in-app-world/

Download for OS 4.5 devices (only 4.5.0.131 or later)

Download for BlackBerry Bold (OS 4.6)

Download for Blackberry Curve 8900 (OS 4.6.1)

Download for BlackBerry Storm (4.7.0)

Download for BlackBerry Tour (4.7.1)

RIM hasn’t changed much with the Blackberry Messenger lately with all the beta firmwares that come out almost every week, but for some random reason, they have decided to step up there game and finally create something that’ll impress many Blackberry Messenger users. The program as if now is not available for the public but we’re guessing it should be out anytime this year… at least we hope so.

The new Blackberry Messenger includes:

• Avatar Support – set your own avatar using the camera or saved photos on your device
• GPS location integration – you can now set permissions so friends can always see your location, have to request it each time, or never can see it
• Proximity Sensor – will let you know if you’re within a certain distance of friends
• Set Conversation Subjects – this allows you to organize your convos on the main messenger screen and label them with subjects ot keep track of all your conversations
• Homescreen Support – you can pin/sticky actual Messenger contacts directly to the homescreen for easy access

Click here for more photo’s and information