Whatsapp has finally been launched for the first BlackBerry 10 device, the Z10. Even though it was shown as one of the available apps at the BlackBerry Z10 launch, it has not quite been ready until now.

“BlackBerry has always been about bringing people together in a way that is fast, reliable and impactful,” said, Martyn Mallick, Vice President of Global Alliances and Business Development at BlackBerry. “WhatsApp is a leading mobile messaging app that connects people to their contacts on several platforms, and we are pleased to work with WhatsApp to bring their service to our customers.”

“BlackBerry has been a great platform for WhatsApp for many years,” said Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp. “Delivering WhatsApp on BlackBerry 10 devices is in line with our goals of ensuring that our customers around the world can continue to communicate with the most important people in their lives.”

In building a native application for the BlackBerry 10 platform, WhatsApp has been able to provide a better user experience that leverages the true multi-tasking capabilities of BlackBerry 10. WhatsApp Messenger for BlackBerry 10 provides a messaging experience that utilizes real-time push notifications to alert you when you receive messages- even when the screen is locked.

Fully integrated into BlackBerry Contacts, when the customer launches the app for the first time, WhatsApp can automatically scan existing phone numbers in the contact directory and extract the ones using WhatsApp, to help customers build out their contacts list and get started right away.

Right now we do not see it in the SA BlackBerry World yet, but it is apparently rolling out slowly over the next 24 hours.

You can see the app details over here: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/2360/