BlackBerry Messenger is coming to iOS and Android

[pegasi]

There is a risk that BB users who are currently stuck with BBM may abandon BB for another platforms now that they don't have to give up BBM. We can be sure that BB has calculated that risk before making the bold move. Whether or not it is enough for its survival, only time will tell.

[pegasi]

On hintsight, which is always 20/20 btw, they should have done it when they were the market leader in instant messenging. But they took the high and mighty route which wanted users to convert fully to BB platform if they wanted BBM which in this day and age, is just not workable with the ease of availability of alternative competing platforms. Just have a look at how fast they fell from grace.

That I agree with you. It is a good example of how vital a key business decision could be in shaping the future of a company.

Also, with so many alternatives now, what is the incentive for a user to use BBM rather than Whatsapp/Line/Facebook.

BBM offers not only text messaging and group chat but also voice call, video call and screen share. However, I understand that the last two features will not be available in the first but later release for other platforms. For me, the current market leader do not offer the best features, but credit to it for being the forerunner.

I would like to state that I am in no way related to BB. I am sharing all these because of my personal interest. Hopefully, it will also help readers in making informed choice.

[pegasi]

Now, the next question - why would other manufacturers (i.e. non-BB) want to have BBM, and not other similar apps such as Whatsapp or Viber, pre-installed in thier phones?

[watchristi]

BB=work for me, so i dont need reminder if i stop using it. for my work env it also mean no chat or camera on the BB device so really it would be good riddance someday!! but really. i think its abt the business users so for both BB and non BB, it is a marriage of convenience.

[pegasi]

According to CNET, an adware disguised as "blackberry messager bbm" app somehow made its way to the Google Store 3 days ago and fooled over 100,000 people into installing it before it was taken down.

[GadgetGuy]

I miss BB's keyboard which is perfect for messesging all day & night

[pegasi]

Earliest date that BBM will be available on iOS and Android is said to be around end of September

Still time for whatsApp to close the gap, maybe...

[Imperio]

Blackberry is good.....and i guess nowadays is harder for them to catch up the big boys.....but as for reserve phone or for use as second set of phone, the battery and the sms is damnz good....

I love it.....but for only the new q10 or z10 dont need the bb data....which is positive new for BB users.....

[tzehou]

At last... kinda cool to be able to use an iphone with BBM. When doing business in Indo, often need a BBM to get things done and for communications.

[pegasi]

At last... kinda cool to be able to use an iphone with BBM. When doing business in Indo, often need a BBM to get things done and for communications.

Yes, Indonesia is one of the biggest BB markets in Asia which Apple and Android mobile phones makers will try to tap into with the "liberalization" of BBM. The consumers will be the biggest winners.

[triton]

couple of questions i like to find out.

why BB is big in indonesia? is it due to the data plan by blackberry? is the telco data plan not competitive?

besides indonesia, any other country is dominated by bb?

Yes, Indonesia is one of the biggest BB markets in Asia which Apple and Android mobile phones makers will try to tap into with the "liberalization" of BBM. The consumers will be the biggest winners.

[pegasi]

couple of questions i like to find out.

why BB is big in indonesia? is it due to the data plan by blackberry? is the telco data plan not competitive?

besides indonesia, any other country is dominated by bb?

Indonesia is one of the earliest markets to adopt BB when the smart phones started to take off, with BBM and push email as the key selling points. It has since taken over Nokia and built a social network so big that Android and Apple found hard to break into until recently. The success of BB in Indonesia also owe much to the very cheap BB internet service plans BIS (like only a few dollars a month) that provides access to twitter and fb.

As for the question of whether any other country is dominated by BB...BB is not dominant in any country, not even Indonesia anymore though Indonesia remains as one of the few markets in which BB has a substantial market share. Other countries where BB has a relatively significant market share are India, UK, US and Canada where BB is based.

Strong foothold or not, BB is losing ground globally every quarter and month. Hence I personally think it is the right choice for BB to "trade" their star feature BBM for a chance to survive, even knowing that it might speed up the user migration from BB to other platforms in their key markets like Indonesia.

[pegasi]

BBM goes cross-platform this weekend

Finally...

According to CNET, BlackBerry confirms the Android version will come on Saturday, while the iOS version hits the App Store on Sunday.

Is BBM going cross-platform really a big deal? Depends on who you ask

[Balzebub]

too late i think, all my friends, contacts in SG are on whatsapp, china contacts and friends on Wechat, contacts and friends on indonesia still on BB and also some portion on Wechat, so i guess for me, limited use lor...

[pegasi]

China is always going to have their own apps due to political reason. WhatsApp may be dominant in many countries but it is not leading in key markets like US, China, Korea and Japan. Is the position of WhatsApp unassailable? I do not think so. Is WhatsApp even close to being the best of such apps functionality wise? The fact is it offers the least versus its main rivals.

I used to think Nokia as a mobile phone maker was untouchable when they had a market share of around 40% globally for a long spell. It took just 3 years for them to go from no.1 to being an unsustainable business.