According to the Boston Globe, a new app for Research In Motion Ltd.’s (RIM) BlackBerry smartphone platform has just come out and it lets you use your BlackBerry like a walkie-talkie. While only available for higher-end devices like the Storm, Bold and Curve, Push2Talk is a pretty innovative product. It might signal the next big thing in the phone world, replacing the text message as the quick communication method of choice. 

At a relatively cheap $4.99, the new app lets you select a fellow BlackBerry user with the software installed, hold down a button to record your voice, and instantly send the message. While the device requires both you and the person that you want to talk with to have each other’s PIN, limits messages to 10 seconds, and has about a 2 second delay between recording the message and it arriving, the software works surprisingly well. However, the message immediately arrives and is played, so if you have friends who like to joke, it could make for some awkward dates if they decide to mess with you. 

I would prefer a way to simply switch the software to a passive mode, where new voice messages popup in a list like text messages. Having them saved would be nice too, but might make for interesting blackmail material. If new versions of the software improve upon the current, it could become a powerful new way to communicate. Because who really wants to pound out text messages when you can just talk? 

The new app might be a hint at the future of smartphone communication. Think of a new, multi-platform messaging standard that allows anyone to send quick voice messages back and forth between users, regardless of their choice of phone. It could get a whole new (or should I say older) generation of phone users who have been slow to adopt text messaging to get in on the trend of simply shouting out to friends and family without the hassle of making a real call and having to have a conversation. While the application is currently only available on the BlackBerry, I hope to see it on the iPhone and Android OS as soon as possible.