BBM roll-out grinds to a halt
JOBURG - The much-anticipated roll-out of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to Android and iPhone devices has been put on hold.
22 September, 10.54am
On 20 September, BlackBerry announced that it would release BBM to Adroid and iPhone devices the following day. However, the cellphone maker and BBM title-holder later retracted the statement, saying the roll-out would be paused until further notice.
This was because unofficial versions of the BBM app were released on the Google Play Store. Within the first eight hours, the app had already received 1.1 million registered users.
Frustrated BBM fanatics reacted angrily and expressed their disappointment with the app and its unreliability. Reports indicated the app kept crashing throughout the day, prompting BlackBerry to pull it from the play store.
BlackBerry has said the official app would still be released within the coming days, but has given specific details.
20 September 3.30 pm
BlackBerry has announced that it will release BBM to iPhone and Android users on 21 September.
BlackBerry Messenger, which has up until now been exclusive to BlackBerry customers, has opened its services to non-BlackBerry users, with the smartphone’s website announcing that BBM will be available as a free download in the Google Play Store as well as in the App Store.
Up until now, iPhone and Android users have been excluded from the growing BBM market and were forced to use applications such as WhatsApp. BBM allows users to broadcast and send messages to other users, without being forced to send out a phone number – a service WhatsApp does not provide. BBM also allows users to send voice recordings, videos and photos at no cost.
