BBM on Android and iOS?!?!?

[Liam W]

So, dunno if this will interest anyone here (how am I supposed to know what interests you lot?).

Anyhow, it would appear as though RIM will be releasing BBM functionality to Android and iOS devices this summer.

For free mind...

Good, bad, strange, silly?

Will it be used?

Source: http://www.cultofandroid.com/27488/blackberry-announces-bbm-coming-to-android-ios-this-summer/

 

[Biker]

Too little, too late. This was suggested a couple of years ago and the idiots running the show then nixed the idea.

Blackberry as a company is doomed. Fully expect them to be bought out before the year is out.

 

[Chris D]

The time for them to do this would have been way before WhatsApp and iMessage gained popularity.

 

[Liam W]

I hate blackberry, however almost everyone at school has one. *sigh*. Why can't people learn?

 

[Forsaken]

The time for them to do this would have been way before WhatsApp and iMessage gained popularity.

iMessage isn't cross-platform (Unless you say Mac and iOS are cross platform, which is barely).

More likely Google's new service will blow it out of the water as they have a lot more to offer. Google Talk, Google+ Hangouts, Google Voice and Gmail? Given how many people use these services on other platforms chances are this will end up being the dominant messaging service.

 

[Flexin]

I hate blackberry, however almost everyone at school has one. *sigh*. Why can't people learn?

Learn what? To buy a phone someone else tells them to buy? Forget that. Get the phone that you like and be happy.

I'm loving my Z10. How do I feel about BBM being offered on iOS and Android? Not sure. I don't think it will affect BlackBerry all that much. Some are saying that they don't need to buy a Blackberry now because BBM will be free on their phone. If they were going to leave their phone for BBM, it must be THAT good or they don't enjoy their phone all that much.

I like to hear the reason behind the decision on doing it.

James

 

[Flexin]

iMessage isn't cross-platform (Unless you say Mac and iOS are cross platform, which is barely).

More likely Google's new service will blow it out of the water as they have a lot more to offer. Google Talk, Google+ Hangouts, Google Voice and Gmail? Given how many people use these services on other platforms chances are this will end up being the dominant messaging service.

None of them will get 100% of the market in my opinion. Some seem to be shying away from Google as they add new services. Some say "Wow, its a one stop shop." Others don't like giving all that information to one company. You can't make everyone happy. Plus Google has been messing with there services to try to hurt other platforms.

Your right, imessage isn't cross platform.

Whats up doesn't have the whole market. I have family with iphones and some will use Whatsup. My sister won't. I have a friend that won't use it as well. After leaving BlackBerry she is fine with text and doesn't see the reason to use it.

James

 

[Biker]

I like to hear the reason behind the decision on doing it.

Because it brings in needed $$$. The service isn't free and cell providers will charge you to access the Blackberry network.

2-3 years ago, when it was suggested, it would have been what Blackberry needed to bring in needed cash flow. But the two nimrods running the company back then nixed the idea. So now the company is playing catchup after everyone else has left them in the dust. Even their corporate users are fleeing to other solutions, especially as company enterprise solutions become more robust for iPhone and Android devices.

 

[Flexin]

Because it brings in needed $$$. The service isn't free and cell providers will charge you to access the Blackberry network.

2-3 years ago, when it was suggested, it would have been what Blackberry needed to bring in needed cash flow. But the two nimrods running the company back then nixed the idea. So now the company is playing catchup after everyone else has left them in the dust. Even their corporate users are fleeing to other solutions, especially as company enterprise solutions become more robust for iPhone and Android devices.

Brings in money how? The BlackBerry plan is going out. It isn't on the new phones so it won't be on iOS or Android.

James

 

[Jason]

None of them will get 100% of the market in my opinion. Some seem to be shying away from Google as they add new services. Some say "Wow, its a one stop shop." Others don't like giving all that information to one company. You can't make everyone happy. Plus Google has been messing with there services to try to hurt other platforms.

Your right, imessage isn't cross platform.

Whats up doesn't have the whole market. I have family with iphones and some will use Whatsup. My sister won't. I have a friend that won't use it as well. After leaving BlackBerry she is fine with text and doesn't see the reason to use it.

James

Well, as long as there are multiple vendors being used, no one will ever have 100% of the market. That's just basic math.

I can remember, back before the iPhone and Android devices, when all my friends and co-workers had blackberries and we could all have full blown conversations over BBM, excluding those without blackberries. Now we're all on multiple platforms, but mostly use GTalk (Hangouts with co-workers) and to a lesser extent WhatsApp.

iMessage is great, if the people you're talking to have an iOS device and the messages actually get delivered in a reasonable time.

I think it's a bold move on RIM's part, but not really sure how it'll play out. BBM is much more than a simple messaging platform, as it does things no one else has really matched (yet), at least on blackberries. But on other platforms, it probably will just be reduced to another messaging app.

 

[Flexin]

Well, as long as there are multiple vendors being used, no one will ever have 100% of the market. That's just basic math.

I can remember, back before the iPhone and Android devices, when all my friends and co-workers had blackberries and we could all have full blown conversations over BBM, excluding those without blackberries. Now we're all on multiple platforms, but mostly use GTalk and to a lesser extent WhatsApp.

iMessage is great, if the people you're talking to have an iOS device and the messages actually get delivered in a reasonable time.

I think it's a bold move on RIM's part, but not really sure how it'll play out. BBM is much more than a simple messaging platform, as it does things no one else has really matched (yet), at least on blackberries. But on other platforms, it probably will just be reduced to another messaging app.

People have said for a while that they should put on a basic messaging app on the other platforms. From what I read it will start out as that but they sound like they will be offering full features. They are offering a channels feature for BBM and they will get that as well.

James

 

[Jason]

Part of what makes BBM great is its tight integration with the OS. For that reason alone, it'll never be a first class citizen on iOS, at least. Android, possibly, but there's another development on that front which could preempt it.

Channels seems like a possible flop. I just don't see a lot of people wanting to engage with Starbucks, for example, over BBM. Chat with friends though, definitely. It's like they want to duplicate Twitter, but they each have different use-cases

 

[Forsaken]

None of them will get 100% of the market in my opinion. Some seem to be shying away from Google as they add new services. Some say "Wow, its a one stop shop." Others don't like giving all that information to one company. You can't make everyone happy. Plus Google has been messing with there services to try to hurt other platforms.

Your right, imessage isn't cross platform.

Whats up doesn't have the whole market. I have family with iphones and some will use Whatsup. My sister won't. I have a friend that won't use it as well. After leaving BlackBerry she is fine with text and doesn't see the reason to use it.

James

No one will ever own the entirety of a market as as long as there is competition someone will obviously have a preference for an alternative.

I know of no one that is shying away from Google because they don't want all of their information with one company... The people who shy away from sharing information shy away from doing so with almost every company. And Google is honestly the least worrisome in comparison to other companies (Such as Facebook).

One of Googles assets, and it is becoming more apparent, is that they're consolidating their services so that they've got tighter integration and that there is less overlap. Again, this is another reason why people choose to use Google, and not to move away from them. It is also no different from Apple, Facebook or Microsoft where you're stuck in their ecosystem.

What services have Google messed with to intentionally hurt other platforms? They've ended services that aren't in wide usage (Though I disagree greatly with Reader's closure) but for the most part they're the most wide spread across other platforms. The only thing that comes to mind is certain things having to do with Windows Phone (ActiveSync and the move to CalDav etc) which has less to do with screwing over a service but more to do with the fact that they were paying a significant amount for licenses to a proprietary service which is in Microsofts control. They moved to an open standard that everyone but Microsoft supported at the time, and delayed things so that Microsoft could add support for the standards.

 

[Liam W]

Learn what? To buy a phone someone else tells them to buy? Forget that. Get the phone that you like and be happy.

I'm loving my Z10. How do I feel about BBM being offered on iOS and Android? Not sure. I don't think it will affect BlackBerry all that much. Some are saying that they don't need to buy a Blackberry now because BBM will be free on their phone. If they were going to leave their phone for BBM, it must be THAT good or they don't enjoy their phone all that much.

I like to hear the reason behind the decision on doing it.

James

The Z10 is OK, I used one of the demo ones in CPW.

However, the older models are just rubbish, and I don't see how they can be used. The vast majority of them don't even have 3G.

 

[Forsaken]

The Z10 is OK, I used one of the demo ones in CPW.

However, the older models are just rubbish, and I don't see how they can be used. The vast majority of them don't even have 3G.

Many models were made before 3G, and others were made with an administration that was about as intelligent as a rock.

 

[Flexin]

The Z10 is OK, I used one of the demo ones in CPW.

However, the older models are just rubbish, and I don't see how they can be used. The vast majority of them don't even have 3G.

The older ones were fine. I owned a Bold 9000 and a Torch 9810. I did a lot with them.
If it is the demo unit running the demo set up then it is showing you what you can do but its more like a guided tour. The phone is better then the demo shows.

James

 

[0ptima]

I have a 9810 and love the track pad as I can use it with one hand. The Z10 is nice but found that I needed two hands at times in order to get things done. Still have not decided on a Z10 or Q10, but I will get one of them soon.

 

[Flexin]

I have a 9810 and love the track pad as I can use it with one hand. The Z10 is nice but found that I needed two hands at times in order to get things done. Still have not decided on a Z10 or Q10, but I will get one of them soon.

I can do one hand most of the time. I have an Otterbox on it which makes it a bit harder. The case makes the phone a lot larger. My wife was going to wait for the Q10 but decided to get the Z10 just after I did. So far she loves it. She thanked me a couple of times now for suggesting that she should try it out.

James