About two years ago we were visiting a local park with our son when he met a new little friend. It was the first time we had seen our son, who was two at the time, play with another child, as opposed to beside another child. We were excited to see how well they played together, as were the other boy's parents. Over the course of a few visits to the park we eventually exchanged phone numbers with the other parents so that we could arrange a future play-date. Neither us nor the other parents ever got around to calling. However, at the park, later that summer, we were talking about our BlackBerry® smartphones and decided to exchange PINs so we could chat over BlackBerry® Messenger.


From that moment on we began messaging each other about when we were going to the park; we organized play-dates; and weekend excursions to museums or theme parks all via IM! We could have done this by picking up the telephone but there was something less obtrusive about Messenger. We could message and reply at any time, unlike a telephone call where there is the potential to call at an inconvenient time for the other party. Using Messenger made organizing and meeting up simple and easy. Two years later, my son continues to be friends with the other boy and my husband and I are great friends with the parents. I credit Messenger for our friendship!


Messenger is a great way to connect with your friends who have a BlackBerry smartphone. If you are new to BlackBerry devices or have never used Messenger this will get you started:

Using BlackBerry Messenger


• Find BlackBerry Messenger, hint it looks like this (and may reside in your Instant Messaging folder)

blackberrymessenger.jpg

• Your first time using BlackBerry Messenger you will be asked for a display name (this is the name that will show up on your friend's contact list), and a password.

To add contacts to Messenger:
• From the Contact List screen click the Menu button - looks like this: menu_key_bb_bullets_39752_11.jpg
• Click "Add a Contact"
• This box will pop up:
Add Contact
• Type an email address, name or PIN, press enter key.

Note: You can only add a 'name' if the individual is listed in your address book with a valid email address.


How to find your PIN on your BlackBerry smartphone: Options (wrench), Status

Can you credit your BlackBerry with making a new friend?

If you don't have IM on your BlackBerry:

BlackBerry Messenger for Software Versions 4.0 and 4.1
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/features/im/blackberry_messenger.jsp

You can download other IM clients here:
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/features/im/