BlackBerry confirms BBM app for Android and iPhone – but rivals await

BlackBerry is making its
Messenger (BBM) real-time
messaging service available on
Apple's iPhone and iPad and
Google's Android platforms from
summer, abandoning the
platform exclusivity that had for
years been a crucial tool in
attracting and retaining users.
Announcing the move at the
company's developer conference,
software vice president Andrew
Bocking said: "the time is
definitely right for BBM to
become a multi-platform mobile
service. BBM has always been
one of the most engaging
services for BlackBerry
customers, enabling them to
easily connect while maintaining
a valued level of personal
privacy. We're excited to offer
iOS and Android users the
possibility to join the BBM
community."
Chief executive Thorsten Heins
called the move "a statement of
confidence". BlackBerry says that
BBM has more than 60 million
monthly active users, with more
than 51 million using BBM for an
average of 90 minutes per day.
Its customers collectively send
and receive more than 10bn
messages daily, with almost half
read within 20 second of being
received, it said.
The free app will be available
once approved for Apple's iOS 6
software released last year and
devices running Android 4.0 or
higher, released in late 2011.
BBM was once seen as an iconic
messaging system which drew
both teenagers and business
people onto the BlackBerry
platform because messages
could only be swapped between
its own handsets. But with its
installed base of users falling,
the company has had to look for
ways to generate revenues from
its software expertise.
The move pitches BBM into a
fight with other cross-platform
data-reliant apps - known as
"over the top" services - such as
WhatsApp, WeChat and Viber.
On Apple's iOS, it will put it up
against the company's own
iMessage app - though that does
not work across different
platforms.
But BBM is now one of the
smallest cross-platform apps,
with WhatsApp claiming more
than 200 million active users,
and WeChat around 190 million.
In the planned initial release, iOS
and Android users would be able
to experience the immediacy of
BBM chats, including multi-
person chats, as well as the
ability to share photos and voice
notes, and engage in BBM
Groups, which allows BBM
customers to create groups of up
to 30 people.
BlackBerry says BBM provides
customers with a high level of
control and privacy over who
they add to their contact list and
how they engage with them, as
invites are two-way opt-in. iOS
and Android users would be able
to add their contacts through
PIN, email, SMS or QR code scan,
regardless of platform. Android
users would also be able to
connect using a compatible NFC-
capable device.
    This is going to be sweet... Tell me what you feel about this.