Jivetalk is an excellent alternative to not having the built in client. If you have an sd card in your bb it will show buddy icons. It's a good investment.
Ramble is free, there are some flaws but nothing to major , the difference of 20$ for a program u can get for free beats the flaws, they just made a new one and its better then the old one
Key Features
Desktop-like instant messaging with all of your IM buddies from a single intuitive user interface.
JiveTalk uses your existing data plan: no per-message charges.
Reliable and efficient networking: be connected 24/7, and it's gentle on your battery.
Works with multiple IM networks, multiple accounts per network: AIM®/iChat, MSN®, Yahoo!®, GoogleTalk®, ICQ®, Jabber, and MySpace IM.
Automatically reconnects in case of data service disruption, including phone calls & loss of cell coverage.
For Ramble Its so sucks and very slow or sometime it not working at all that why they offer free.
I use Jivetalk alot to chat with all of my deaf people and it work very good and i am very happy with their service. I think 20 dollar is worth to buy and use it. It only one time fee per device