It has been a busy day for Blackberry. Earlier in the day, it released the Blackberry Z30 and it has now announced that dates for the release of the the almighty BBM for Android and iPhone. This was announced in May 2013 but not many people felt Blackberry was going finally let go of the last bastion – the BBM.
In an official blog post, Blackberry states that it will be rolling out BBM for Android on the 21st of September and for iPhone on the 22nd of September. This means that Blackberry users will be able to easily connect with friends on different platforms, much like Whatsapp. What was previously exclusive to Blackberry smartphones, will be available as a free download in Google Play and the App Store
In a recent press release, Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President for BBM at BlackBerry said:
“BBM is a very engaging messaging service that is simple to use, easy to personalize and has an immediacy that is necessary for mobile communications. With more than a billion Android, iOS, and BlackBerry smartphones in the market, and no dominant mobile instant messaging platform, this is absolutely the right time to bring BBM to Android and iPhone customers.”
BBM will be available as a free download for Android smartphones running Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean (Android 4.x) beginning at 7AM EDT on September 21. BBM for iPhones running iOS 6 and iOS 7 will become available for each market on the App Store schedule of 12:01 AM local time on September 22.
According to the company,
“BBM will continue to evolve quickly. Later this year, BBM Channels will provide a forum for active, real conversations between you and the people, brands, celebrities, artists, service providers, communities and more, that matter to you. By creating a Channel, individuals and brands can engage their friends and communities in conversations sparked by their thoughts, ideas and passions. Subscribing to a Channel will let you join conversations with people who share your interests. In addition, BBM Video calling and BBM Voice calling are planned for availability for Android and iPhone in a future version.”
Hope this will make out to be a good move for Blackberry.
