Bbm for android and iphone complete information




BlackBerry has confirmed the release date for BBM for
Android and iOS. In a statement to the press BlackBerry
outlined the release date for both platforms as well as
some of the features we’ll see once the IM client goes
live.
BBM for Android will get a release date on September
21 and the IM client will come to Apple’s iPhone on
September 22.
“BBM is a very engaging messaging service that is simple
to use, easy to personalize and has an immediacy that is
necessary for mobile communications,” said Andrew
Bocking, Executive Vice President for BBM at
BlackBerry.
“With more than a billion Android, iOS, and BlackBerry
smartphones in the market, and no dominant mobile
messaging platform, this is absolutely the right time to
bring BBM to Android and iPhone customers.”
BlackBerry highlighted the following features of BBM
inside the release:
BBM Chat – Enjoy real, immediate conversations with
friends on Android, iPhone and BlackBerry
smartphones. Not only does BBM let you know that
your message has been delivered and read, it also
shows you that your friend is responding to the
message.
More than chat – With BBM you can share files on
your phone such as photos and voice notes, all in an
instant.
Keep your group in the loop – Multi-person chats are
a great way to invite contacts to chat together. BBM
Groups lets you invite up to 30 friends to chat together,
and go a step further than multi-chat by sharing photos
and schedules. And, with Broadcast Message, you can
send a message out to all your BBM contacts at once.
Post Updates and stay in the know – BBM lets you
post a personal message, profile picture and your
current status, and lets your contacts know instantly in
Updates.
Your unique PIN – Every BBM user has a unique PIN
that maintains your privacy, so you don’t have to give
out your phone number or email address to a new or
casual contact.
And here's some pictures of what BBM for Android and
iOS will look like:
Sept 18 2013
BlackBerry Z30 announced – no word on
BBM for Android and iOS
BlackBerry has unveiled the BlackBerry Z30, the most
powerful phone the company has ever produced. But
sadly there was no mention of when BBM for Android
and iOS would become available. Previous reports had
suggested BBM for Android would launch on September
18, which, of course, is today.
That’s looking rather unlikely now. But multiple sources
seem convinced a release is nigh – some even speculate
it could happen on September 20. There was also talk
of Samsung getting a three month exclusive on the
cross-platform IM service, but that rumour has now
been put to bed.
A BlackBerry representative has responded to the
internet chatter, issuing a statement to CrackBerry and
confirming that the app will be available to both
Android and iOS at the same time.
Victoria Berry, BlackBerry's communications director,
said, "The excitement around the
upcoming BBM launch on iPhone and Android devices
seems to know no bounds. Although I’m a big fan of
this passion, I want to clarify that no one will have an
exclusive on offering BBM. We’ll be bringing the app to
Android and iPhone users across the globe soon.”When
it does finally hit Google Play, BlackBerry has confirmed
the app will be available to all Android handsets running
Ice Cream Sandwich and higher.
Rumours. Rumours. Rumours. When it comes to BBM
for Android and iOS there are plenty. But today’s
update does look a little more solid than some of the
other guff we’ve seen during the past month or so.
Blackberry will apparently launch BBM cross-platform
on September 20 via an event in Jakarta – and there’s
even an invite.
The report comes, once again, via CrackBerry – one of
the web’s best resources for all things BlackBerry. Below
is the apparent roll-out schedule for BBM to Android
and iOS. Looks like September 20 could well be on the
money…
Friday, Sept 20th, 7am EST: Android version published
on Google Play
Friday, Sept 20th, 7am EST: BBM.com goes live
Friday, Sept 20th, 7am EST: CRM messages sent out to
pre-registrants
Friday, Sept 20th, 7am EST: Follow-up CRM message
sent out after full App Store deployment
Saturday, Sept 21st: BBM on iOS becomes available
12:01am EST in local time zones.
We'll update this article as soon as we know
more...
September 16 2013:
The APK for BlackBerry's BBM for Android application
has leaked online, allowing you to install the
forthcoming app on your Android phone early.
The app emerged via the XDA-developer forums.
However, there's a catch. While you may indeed install
the app on your phone you can't actually use it yet.
That's because BBM uses BlackBerry's dedicated BBM
network, but this hasn't been enabled for BBM for
Android yet, so you can't actually connect and use it.
According to reports it will work for 'whitelisted'
handsets, but these are understood to be carried by
BlackBerry personnel only. What all of this means
though is that development is likely quite far along and
a release may even be imminent.
Previous reports have suggested we would see BBM for
Android launched by the end of the summer - we may
now indeed be in Autumn, but allowing for some
overlap it could still be quite soon. In additon,
BlackBerry is lining up a launch event for September 18
and it is possible this could see the new branch of
BlackBerry's service officially announced.
September 9 2013:
A video showcasing what BBM for Android will look like
has surfaced online. Picked up by Engadget and posted
online, the video gives us our first proper glimpse of
BlackBerry’s trademark BBM UX running on Google’s
Android OS.
But there’s still no official release date in place with
BlackBerry still maintaining it’s coming “this summer” –
which is great, but last time we checked summer was
just about done. Our BBQ has been out of action for
weeks now…
In the video we’re treated to a display of how BBM for
Android uses NFC to transfer contacts. It’s unclear
whether the application will tap into your existing
Android contacts list or require a BlackBerry ID –
presumably it’ll be the latter.
BBM is also coming to iOS but BlackBerry has yet to say
when that will be. BlackBerry execs confirmed at
BlackBerry World Live 2013 that there were no plans in
place to bring the IM service to Windows Phone.
BBM demoed on Samsung Galaxy S4 and
iPhone 5
Ahead of its release later this month, BlackBerry has
been showing off BBM for Android and iOS the Toronto
International Film Festival.
KYM wasn’t at the festival, unfortunately, so we don’t
have any pictures or video but the fact that BlackBerry
is now officially demoing BBM for both iOS and Android
means the wait is almost over.
UberGizmo managed to snap the below image, but
there is currently no video footage of BBM running on
the iPhone, however, as filming was strictly prohibited
at the film expo.
BlackBerry submitted BBM for iOS to Apple's App Store
over two weeks ago, according to reports. BlackBerry’s
Senior Strategic Account Manager, Alex Kinsella,
confirmed the news via Twitter: “Just in case we forgot
to mention, BBM for iPhone was submitted for review 2
wks ago. #waiting #BBM4ALL”
BBM for Android and iOS has been spotted in official
user manuals, right on the BlackBerry Global website.
Both manuals, leaked on CrackBerry, show users how
to:
Navigate around BBM
Sign in with your BlackBerry ID
Change your BBM status or profile
Add a BBM contact
Start a BBM chat
View someone's BBM profile
View recent BBM activities
View your chat history
Join or create a BBM group
Set sounds
Add emoticons
Plus troubleshooting information
Although we've heard a lot about BBM for Android and
iOS launching this summer, this is the first true
evidence we've seen that BBM is coming to Android and
iOS devices very soon indeed.
You can download the BBM for Android and BBM for
iOS manuals now.
At the beginning of the month, BBM for Android was
leaked running on a Samsung Galaxy S3 ahead of the
free IM client’s scheduled ‘summer’ rollout. BGR
secured the image, giving us our first look at what BBM
will look running on a non-BlackBerry device.
It’s been reported that BBM will arrive first on Android
and then iOS. BlackBerry said the service would go live
before the end of the summer, following its
announcement at BlackBerry World Live 2013 in May.
More recent reports have claimed BBM will launch
before the end of September although BlackBerry is
remaining very tight-lipped about concrete release
dates. Adding fuel to the speculative bonfire that is
when-will-BBM-come-to-Android is the news that
Samsung Galaxy handsets may get the service first via
the company’s Samsung Apps portal.
Here’s the scoop via Android Authority :
‘Samsung has confirmed that the app will indeed be
coming to Android. But it also added that it will be in
its own Samsung Apps as part of its Messaging Hub on
its Android-powered Galaxy devices. Word is that
Samsung is starting to work on its advertising campaign
for the new feature.’
Samsung is also said to be running radio adverts in
South Africa advertising the upcoming addition of BBM
to its Samsung Apps portal, although we’ve yet to verify
this claim. We’ll update when we know more.
BlackBerry announced its plans to make BBM cross
platform at BlackBerry World Live 2013. It was a big
announcement and something that took a lot of people
of guard.
Android users will be required to sign-in with a
BlackBerry account to use the service. Don't have an
existing BlackBerry account? Then you'll presumably
have to register for one.
Not all BBM features will be coming across to iOS and
Android – BlackBerry is keeping some exclusive to its
own handsets. But Android will be a more feature-rich
service, according to BlackBerry, on account of the
platform's more open nature.
Sunil Lalvani, managing director for BlackBerry India,
has reportedly spilled the beans on when we can expect
to see BBM released for Android.
Speaking to IBN Live, Lalvani stated that BlackBerry
would launch BBM for Android inside the next two
months. BlackBerry had previously said it wanted to roll
the service out during the summer and now it seems
that a late-September release is on the cards.
‘The service is coming to Android this summer. But
summer as per North America, where it remains till
September,’ said Lalvani.
The exec did not mention whether this date also applied
to the iOS version of BBM. BlackBerry confirmed the
launch of BBM for Android and iOS at BlackBerry World
Live 2013, but it did add that the Android version,
owing to the more open nature of Google’s OS, would
likely be a more feature-rich version than its iOS
counterpart.
BBM – in case, somehow, you don’t know what it is – is
an IM client that allows users to send messages using
their handsets web-connection. Think WhatsApp and
iMessage, just bigger, better, and older. BBM is the IM
app that started it all.
The rise of cross-platform services like WhatsApp as
well as BlackBerry’s own diminishing presence in the
mobile space during the past couple of years has forced
the company into making one of its only remaining
USPs available on competitor platforms.
Whether it’s a branding exercise or merely a money-
spinner remains to be seen. BlackBerry’s official line on
the matter is that BBM is the best IM client in the world
and everybody – iOS and Android people included –
deserve access to it.
BlackBerry has high hopes for the rollout of its BBM
service on Android and iOS, so much so that we might
even see it pre-installed by some manufacturers.
BlackBerry fielded questions about BBM for Android
and iOS at the London launch of the Q5 earlier today.
Unfortunately the BlackBerry execs weren't able to tell
us anymore about concrete release dates for the service
– 'BBM for iOS and Android is coming this summer'.
BBM, one of BlackBerry’s most unerring USPs over the
years, is coming to iOS and Android this summer.
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins broke the news at the
company’s BB Live 2013 expo in Florida last month.
Android and iOS will both support the application and
the messaging service is expected to go live at some
point this summer. BlackBerry hasn’t been particularly
forthcoming about a specific release date although
summer is now very much underway, so the service
could appear inside Google Play and Apple's App Store
very soon.
Alluding to BBM’s pre-installation on some Android
devices, BlackBerry’s COO Kristian Tear told CNET:
‘There is interest from other handset makers.’ And
rightly so, too. BBM is used by 51 million users a month
for an average of 90 minutes a day, according to
reports.
T-Mobile US dropped a ball this week, claiming the
service would be available for Android users from June
27 on Twitter before subsequently retracting the
statement, presumably after receiving a bollocking from
BlackBerry. Here’s the retraction: ‘sorry folks, we got
over-excited about the BBM app coming to Android/
iOS. No specific availability date yet, stay tuned for
details.’
BBM for Android is likely to be more feature-rich than
its iOS-based counterpart, owing to the more open-
nature of Google’s mobile platform, according to
BlackBerry. And not all features will make the transition
with the company keeping some BBM features exclusive
to its hardware.
There will be chats (including multi-user chats), Groups
and voice notes. Voice and video calls, channels plus
screen sharing will be added later on.
Is this exciting? We think it is – BBM is a great service
and we’ve been dreaming of it making its way over to
iOS and Android for years.

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