For those running Blackberry OS 4.5 or higher, you can now get BB Messenger 5.0 for free. This update includes multiple GUI improvements that bring BB messenger to a more modern look, feel, and feature set to match other services(examples include: status messages, picture avatars, etc).
Pictures of Blackberry Messenger 5 further in the article.
BB Messenger 5 in the BB App Store
BB Messenger 5 Buddy List