Access BBM from your desktop with Fixmo Web Messenger

I’m willing to be that if you polled BlackBerry users on their favorite function, the predominant answer would be BBM. I know plenty of people who want to switch to Android or iPhone, but can’t live without their expansive BBM contact lists. RIM has constantly improved BBM, too, giving us new features and more intuitive ways to instant message. Yesterday we got another BBM innovation, though this one does not come from RIM. It’s from Fixmo, and it allows you to access your BBM while you’re at your desktop. In other words, it turns BBM into AIM, GTalk, and other popular instant messaging platforms. Here’s how it works. First, you install an app to your BlackBerry device. After you create an account on the device you head to Fixmo’s website, where you can log in and then access your BBM. You can keep that window open all day, coming back to chat with friends as you normally do on your BlackBerry. This is another way that office workers can get more out of their BlackBerry devices. The service is currently in beta, and Fixmo does acknowledge that it has some issues to work through. For instance, it sometimes doesn’t work over WiFi, and the 3G connection can be slow. Still, it might be worth your while, so here’s how you can get it. First, point your BlackBerry browser to http://fwm.fixmo.com:8080/WebMessenger.jad. You’ll get the whole download screen thing. Once you’ve installed, run it and create an account. Once you click Connect, you can go to http://www.fixmo.com/fwm and log into your account. Your BBM contact list should appear, ready for your instant messaging pleasures. The only downside, as BerryReview notes, is that you’re sharing your BBM chats with Fixmo. Normally BBM is completely secure — no one can get to those conversations. So that’s one drawback. But if you’re just having innocuous conversations, it shouldn’t be much of an issue (unless you don’t like the idea on the principle of the matter). If you do give it a try, let us know in the comments what you think of it.

About the Author

Joe Pawlikowski is the Senior Editor at MobileMoo.com and has been covering the mobile industry full time since 2007. When he's not writing about the tech scene, he can be found discussing his personal love - baseball (and more specifically the New York Yankees) as well as writing on his personal blog.