An unofficial report says all BlackBerry devices will get the proprietary BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) messaging service that allows owners of the devices to communicate with one another when the 5.0 version of the operating system for the devices is released. The updated BlackBerry Messenger will reportedly support avatars, integrate GPS functionality, including proximity sensing of other BlackBerry-toting friends, add the ability to group conversations by subject and get a homescreen shortcut for messenger contacts.

Otherwise, the new operating system will sport threaded SMS support and PIN barcode scanning functionality that will allow adding contacts simply by taking a photo of their on-screen barcode. Users will also now be able to back up or restore their Messenger list to their microSD memory cards.

There is still no official release date for the final build of the BlackBerry OS 5.0. [via BGR]