Popular messaging applications have it and BlackBerry has now decided to join the fun by introducing stickers to its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).
BBM said hello to Facebook Messenger, Kakao Talk, Line and the rest of the gang as it tries to be hip and fun with stickers. The company announced the feature, Friday, following the release of BBM 2.0 on Valentine's Day. The stickers will be sold on the BBM Shop.
"Unlike emoticons, stickers are bolder, more beautiful images that you can add right in to your chat. Stickers are downloaded in packs available for purchase from the new BBM Shop - found right inside BBM. Each sticker pack will contain between 20-25 stickers relating to a theme or a character like CosCat, Gilbert's Tales, Bubble Bot and more (we can't wait for you to meet the whole gang!)," wrote BBM head of product management Sean Hungerford.
"You'll also find some of your favorite characters from TV and movies in sticker form (more on that later). Lastly, many of your favorite BBM emoticons will also be available in a free BBM sticker pack so you can really get your point across in a bigger, bolder way!" he added.
The stickers feature is still on external beta at the moment. The company has not disclosed details about the price of its sticker packs. Most likely, the BBM Shop will try to sell more items aside from stickers, to users.
The move is seen by experts as an attempt by BlackBerry to appeal to the younger generation of users that might reverse the fortunes of the struggling brand. The $19 billion deal that has allowed Facebook to bring popular messaging app WhatsApp under its wings has also generated considerable interest in BBM which, at the moment, has around 80 million users.
To date, security and privacy have been the top selling qualities of BBM, which is popular among enterprise customers, and now the company's hoping that the strickers will help its appeal rub off on the younger generations too.
