BBM 6 Released Today: Connected Apps & SMS Support [Video]

RIM has pushed BlackBerry Messenger v6 (BBM 6) out of the door, updating the popular instant messaging app for the company's BlackBerry smartphones. Available to download today through BlackBerry App World, BBM 6 adds support for new, connected apps such as updated versions of FourSquare and Wikitude (see video demos after the cut), allowing users to collaborate within the third-party software using BBM.

There's also support for BBM chat within games and other titles, and friends and colleagues connected apps are automatically added to their profiles so that you can see which they're using. RIM has boosted the BBM Profile to support trophies, achievements, pushed data alerts and other status updates.

It's now also possible to send text messages to friends without BBM directly from the IM app itself, with those messages also getting the conversation-view treatment. More connected apps are expected in the coming weeks, as developers get to grips with the system. BlackBerry handsets running OS 4.5 or above are compatible.

Still, RIM will face increasing pressure from rival messaging systems attempting to take BBM's crown. Various third-party apps for Android and iOS have been released, and Apple is readying iMessage in iOS 5, its own IM system that will support text, image and multimedia chat.

Wikitude integration:

Score Mobile integration:

FourSquare integration: