Young professionals used it like a bad habit. Perhaps you were amongst them, perhaps not. We won’t judge either way. But we will say this: Welcome back to BBM. We’re happy you could make it.
One of the few salvageable assets of struggling BlackBerry, the once groundbreaking and beloved BlackBerry Messenger service (BBM), is now rolling out on iPhone and Android devices.
Those looking to add the BBM app to their instant messaging arsenal can download it through Google Play and the App Store on BBM.com. Not so fast, though; the “unprecedented pent-up demand for BBM” – according to a blog post on BlackBerry’s website – means you’ll have to wait in a virtual line for access. So far, six million people have signed up for information on using the service on their non-BlackBerry devices.
While those who signed up for BBM in advance can download the app immediately, the rest will be moved through the line “as soon as possible,” said BlackBerry EVP (BBM) Andrew Bocking.
The announcement comes after technical issues botched a release of BBM on iPhone and Android earlier this month. Over 1 million Android users had installed a sketchy pre-release version of the application, which was largely hampered by “orders of magnitude higher than normal for each active user,” according to Brocking.
The big question: will BBM’s momentum, and ultimately its interface, functionality and necessity, be enough to rival the likes of WhatsApp, Viber, Voxer, Google Hangouts, and Facebook Messenger? Let us know in the comments below.