One of the most popular features on BlackBerry phones is the BlackBerry Messenger (or BBM) service. At its core, BBM is just another instant messenger app. But it has a few things that set it apart from the crowd, including real-time notifications letting you know when a message has been sent, delivered, or read. You can even see when a contact is typing a message — a feature many desktop IM clients have, but one that’s rare on mobile messengers.
But there is one mobile IM app that offers all of those features… and as an added bonus, it doesn’t just run on BlackBerry phones. Kik Messenger is available for iOS, Android, and BlackBerry. Or at least it was, until Research in Motion kicked it out of the BlackBerry App World last month.
Now RIM has gone one step forward and sued Kik for patent infringement.
On the one hand, it makes sense for RIM to defend its patents. On the other hand, it would be sad if Kik went under, because right now it’s the only IM client of its kind that works across multiple mobile platforms. Somehow I don’t see RIM releasing versions of BlackBerry Messenger for Android and iOS.
via CrackBerry