Will BBM Survive on Android?
"BlackBerry may or may not be your platform of choice, but you must hand it to them for managing a great global outreach. The release of their latest OS, the BlackBerry 10 OS along with a new series of handsets, has the world talking. What once was a company doomed to failure looks like a corporation that is dusting itself off and is getting right back on the horse.
A lot of criticism later, the folks over at BlackBerry introduced a number of third party apps to keep the users happy and to simultaneously dip into the world of apps. Another featured service that Blackberry has a claim to fame for is its instant messenger service the BlackBerry Messenger app. It has always been considered one of the first free platform messaging services and has always been generally safe and BBM spy free- -which is a reason that BlackBerry has managed to remain an enterprise favorite despite its past failure in the general market.
BBM and the New Frontier:
Recently, some interesting news has hit the market concerning BBM and the company’s attempts to magnify it for a larger audience. The BBM service is now set to hit iPhone and Android users as well- -hence becoming the definition of a cross platform app. Previously it was only applicable for use if the user wished to contact someone else that owned a BlackBerry handset. So by the end of the summer, you should be able to use your BBM to message and chat up friends with iPhone as well as Android handsets.
Some may speculate that this is a desperation move by BlackBerry but the stats don’t necessarily tell the same tale. At the moment the service has more than 60 million active users and hence is still going strong. This is a facility which allows users to send free real time messages to their contacts through a PIN code and hence is used widely by BlackBerry users, especially in areas such as the Middle East where the handsets are a success and owned by a majority of people.
The Big Question:
At the moment the entire switch and availability needs to be approved by Google and if it is then it will be a free download available at the Google Play store. Now will it really manage to make a splash and go the distance so to say on Android, a platform that is already known for rampant third party apps? Perhaps it may and perhaps it may not. If we look at the state of Android apps, then the sheer number of messaging apps that are available seem to spell disaster for BBM’s foray into the Google app ocean.
Users who wish to contact their BlackBerry counterparts generally use services such as Viber or Skype. Since WhatsApp has made its way to BlackBerry there has been a general ease in texting between the platforms but has not necessarily been a surefire solution. This outsourcing of BBM availability might indeed prove successful but the chance that already active Android users will spare time for BBM is a bit unlikely."
BBM and the New Frontier:
Recently, some interesting news has hit the market concerning BBM and the company’s attempts to magnify it for a larger audience. The BBM service is now set to hit iPhone and Android users as well- -hence becoming the definition of a cross platform app. Previously it was only applicable for use if the user wished to contact someone else that owned a BlackBerry handset. So by the end of the summer, you should be able to use your BBM to message and chat up friends with iPhone as well as Android handsets.
Some may speculate that this is a desperation move by BlackBerry but the stats don’t necessarily tell the same tale. At the moment the service has more than 60 million active users and hence is still going strong. This is a facility which allows users to send free real time messages to their contacts through a PIN code and hence is used widely by BlackBerry users, especially in areas such as the Middle East where the handsets are a success and owned by a majority of people.
The Big Question:
At the moment the entire switch and availability needs to be approved by Google and if it is then it will be a free download available at the Google Play store. Now will it really manage to make a splash and go the distance so to say on Android, a platform that is already known for rampant third party apps? Perhaps it may and perhaps it may not. If we look at the state of Android apps, then the sheer number of messaging apps that are available seem to spell disaster for BBM’s foray into the Google app ocean.
Users who wish to contact their BlackBerry counterparts generally use services such as Viber or Skype. Since WhatsApp has made its way to BlackBerry there has been a general ease in texting between the platforms but has not necessarily been a surefire solution. This outsourcing of BBM availability might indeed prove successful but the chance that already active Android users will spare time for BBM is a bit unlikely."
