Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: BlackBerry Announces Free BBM for iOS and Android

  1. #1
    #DeSantis2024 Teh One Who Knocks's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    5280' Above Sea Level
    Posts
    256,044
    vCash
    10966
    Mentioned
    20 Post(s)
    Thanks
    23,810
    Thanked 113,085 Times in 59,902 Posts

    Idea BlackBerry Announces Free BBM for iOS and Android

    By Sascha Segan - PC Magazine


    BlackBerry announced today that it will open up its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) instant-messaging program to iOS and Android users for free, with new clients coming for those platforms later this summer.

    "We will make BBM available as the premiere multiplatform messaging solution all around the globe, and even better, it's free," BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said at the BlackBerry Live conference in Orlando, FL. "This is such a great experience, it's just too good to keep it only to ourselves."

    Because it's a BlackBerry exclusive, BBM has only 60 million active users. It's dwarfed by Android/iOS competitors like WhatsApp and Viber, which measure their user bases in the hundreds of millions. But BBM users are highly engaged, sending and receiving more than 10 billion messages per day, Heins said.

    BBM for iOS and Android will start with messaging and groups features, but will roll out "feature parity" including voice calling, screen sharing, and video calling later this year, Heins said. It will be available for devices running iOS 6 and Android 4.0 or higher.

    BBM Gets 'Channels'
    The cross-platform BBM will also include "channels," a new BBM-based social network that will let businesses and celebrities create affinity groups, Heins said. Some of the initial channels include a Formula 1 car team, BlackBerry itself, and the musical artists Alicia Keys, Goo Goo Dolls, and Tegan and Sara. (Some of the channels are shown in the image above.)

    Heins did a demo of Channels, which seem to function a little like Facebook fan pages. If you subscribe to a channel, you can see all of that person's updates, talk back to them and see what other followers are saying. You can also create your own channels, where you control the content and which can have an unlimited number of followers.

    "Imagine the dialogue that can now exist between the BBM users and the businesses, celebrities and groups that they're passionate about," Heins said.

    BBM Channels is in beta right now, with a commercial launch coming later this summer, Heins said.

    Also at BlackBerry Live, the company announced a new lower-cost QWERTY phone, the Q5, and new business server software. See the slideshow above for more.

  2. #2
    21-Jazz hands salute Muddy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    On the Waters of Life
    Posts
    47,246
    vCash
    9653
    Mentioned
    5 Post(s)
    Thanks
    25,971
    Thanked 12,316 Times in 8,172 Posts

  3. #3
    weapon of mass consumption redred's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Bristol , England
    Posts
    30,600
    vCash
    3793
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Thanks
    1,838
    Thanked 5,562 Times in 3,632 Posts
    i get unlimited texts ,can't see this being any use to me

  4. #4
    #DeSantis2024 Teh One Who Knocks's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    5280' Above Sea Level
    Posts
    256,044
    vCash
    10966
    Mentioned
    20 Post(s)
    Thanks
    23,810
    Thanked 113,085 Times in 59,902 Posts
    Yeah, I've never understood the need for IM apps on your phone when you can just text. I have unlimited texting as well.

  5. #5
    weapon of mass consumption redred's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Bristol , England
    Posts
    30,600
    vCash
    3793
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Thanks
    1,838
    Thanked 5,562 Times in 3,632 Posts
    texts and data are more important to me than minutes, i tend not to keep the same number when my contract ends either , gives me a chance to spring clean who has my number i just get a new number make a text and mass send it

  6. #6
    He who laughs, lasts. Noilly Pratt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    The 49th parallel
    Posts
    4,896
    vCash
    1000
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Thanks
    1,534
    Thanked 1,016 Times in 705 Posts
    I read BBM and immediately thought Big Black Mommas.

    Am I racist? Am I one step away from donning a sheet?

    Signature created way-back-when by Goofy

  7. #7
    Shelter Dweller PorkChopSandwiches's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    77,135
    vCash
    5000
    Mentioned
    15 Post(s)
    Thanks
    47,197
    Thanked 29,254 Times in 16,488 Posts
    These guys are so far behind the curve they will try anything to stay afloat






  8. #8
    He who laughs, lasts. Noilly Pratt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    The 49th parallel
    Posts
    4,896
    vCash
    1000
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Thanks
    1,534
    Thanked 1,016 Times in 705 Posts
    They're kind of gaining a little in the Canadian marketplace...lots of Government buy-in from the guys who had their CrackBerrys...and sweet deals from RIM.

    But I agree...they are floundering. They need a few more home runs to stay in the game, to use a baseball metaphor.

    Signature created way-back-when by Goofy

  9. #9
    Shelter Dweller PorkChopSandwiches's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    77,135
    vCash
    5000
    Mentioned
    15 Post(s)
    Thanks
    47,197
    Thanked 29,254 Times in 16,488 Posts
    One way to not fail, is to not spend time developing a product that nobody is asking for. What ios or android user asked for worthless BBM






Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •