WhatsApp now available natively for BlackBerry 10

BlackBerry seems to be making good on its promise of delivering some of the top apps for BlackBerry 10 (BB10) as WhatsApp is finally live in the BlackBerry app store. The company claimed that the new platform will have over 70,000 apps. It’s been close to a month now since BlackBerry launched the Z10 in India and finally we are starting to see some of the most awaited apps trickle in. WhatsApp is available for download right now for BB10 through  BlackBerry World.

Works well on BB!0

WhatsApp on BB10 is a native application, which means it is deeply integrated with BB10’s highlighted features like BlackBerry Flow. The App is also fully integrated into BlackBerry Contacts that automatically scans your address book and picks out the contacts which can be used with WhatsApp. The addition of one of the world’s most popular instant messaging applications for BB10 devices suddenly makes them more appealing as you’re no longer shackled to that eco system alone. The new BBM in BB10 adds new features like video chat and screen share and while these are great, the features don’t work cross-platform, similar to Apple’s FaceTime. We don’t think that WhatsApp poses any threat to BBM; it rather expands the capabilities of the handset instead of restricting it. The app functions very smoothly and works well with BB Flow. All the same features, along with the updated list of emojis, are present as well. There aren’t any exclusive features that have been added for the BB10 platform, though.

Here’s what Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp, had to say about the new app: "BlackBerry has been a great platform for WhatsApp for many years. Delivering WhatsApp on BlackBerry 10 devices is in line with our goals of ensuring that our customers around the world can continue to communicate with the most important people in their lives."

This is a good start for BlackBerry and we hope it continues to push developers in releasing popular apps natively for the BB10 platform. Next, we would really love to see apps like Instagram and Google Maps make it to the platform.