I received the official press statement last night, and immediately went to download the program.  I’ve been incredibly pleased so far.  Instead of opening up Google Talk, AIM, ICQ, and the like each and every time, Nimbuzz supports several clients, so you can use one application to open them all.

The program includes support for the following: fellow Nimbuzz users, Windows Live Messenger, Skype, Yahoo!, Facebook, Google Talk/Orkut, AIM, MySpace, ICQ, studiVZ, schulerVZ, GaduGadu, Giovani, Hyves, Jabber, Gayet, and Azbuz (though the latter three are listed as “currently not available” on my device).  That’s quite the number of instant messaging clients and social networking mediums, and if you’re like me, you’ve probably never heard of half of them.

The program is free to download at Nimbuzz or the BlackBerry App World and can be had for any BlackBerry device running OS 4.6 or higher.  The full press release can be found after the break.

NIMBUZZ LAUNCHES GROUNDBREAKING NEW SOCIAL NETWORKING APP FOR BLACKBERRY SMARTPHONE USERS

Innovative native application for multiple IM networks; Skype IM; online chat for Facebook & MySpace

San Francisco, 2nd December 2009 – HYPERLINK “http://www.nimbuzz.com,/”Nimbuzz (www.nimbuzz.com), the award-winning* multi-community mobile instant message application, has today announced the launch of its groundbreaking new app for BlackBerry® smartphones, that runs as a native application enabling users to connect with each other via their favourite social networks.

Just one of a number of industry ‘firsts’ contained in the new release, native functionality will allow Nimbuzz to run constantly in the background, have alert notifications ‘pushed’ to the home screen and integrate notifications with sound profiles, ensuring users never miss another message.
Free to download and free to use, the Nimbuzz app also supports instant messaging through Skype, allowing BlackBerry® smartphone users to bring their Skype contacts with them wherever they go. In addition, online chat will be available for other communities including Facebook, MSN, GoogleTalk, Yahoo! and MySpace, making Nimbuzz the most comprehensive mobile social messaging application available for the Blackberry®.

The new app was just honored by RIM with the Connect On BlackBerry award as the most innovative and is optimised for BlackBerry® smartphones  running OS v4.6 or higher, including the BlackBerry® Storm™, BlackBerry® Bold™, BlackBerry® Tour™, BlackBerry® Pearl™ Flip and BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900 smartphones. The application is available for download from HYPERLINK “http://www.nimbuzz.com”Nimbuzz.com, as well as on BlackBerry® App World™ (www.blackberry.com/appworld) and other major download channels such as Handmark.
Evert-Jaap Lugt, founder and CEO of Nimbuzz says:  “We are delighted to offer Nimbuzz as the first credible, all-in-one social messaging solution for BlackBerry smartphones. It demonstrates why we have become market leaders in mobile internet communication integrating the award-winning functionality of Nimbuzz to get the best out of each operating system and handset.  This 1st generation client for Blackberry® will continue to be developed and will evolve to provide the full Nimbuzz experience over time.”