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In a move that will probably cause many BBM clone developers to collectively slap their foreheads, BGR is reporting that they’ve heard from several sources inside of RIM that they’re planning to release Blackberry Messenger for Android. (And iOS, if you care.)
Unfortunately, that experience may not be as great on Android as it is on Blackberry. They say RIM may be looking to strip down the offerings on third-party operating systems so that friends who have different operating systems can still communicate without the Blackberry user having to shy away from their beloved messenger.
To what extent they’ll dry the experience up they didn’t say, but I still don’t understand what’s so special about the service to begin with. It’s a glorified instant messenger, and those have been around long before Blackberry Messenger. A watered down version won’t do well to change the opinion of those who think the same way that I do. They say it’s expected to launch sometime this year. [BGR]
Makes sense since they are saying Android apps will work on the Playbook.
makes sense because blackberry users aren’t cultists who only want to talk to themselves.
i think the love of this app was its exclusivity to blackberry owners. it was kind of like an elite club like facetime. give me google talk anyday since it works on all browsers and a good billions of people have gmail
I love the attention RIM is giving Android.
Whether the app is great or not, I find BB’s willingness to be open to everything else out there (unlike a certain mock turtle neck overlord) refreshing.
Yeaa if its not too wattered down. It is the only part of my wifes bb I like. She might finaly move to android :-)
RIM has a difficult job ahead of them. RIM job ughhh huh huh huh.
she may not necessarily switch to android but at least you’ll be able to talk to her again.
still better than a Steve Job
@ Hollywood they’ve come to the conclusion that if they don’t do anything they are going to lose. It’s more about last ditch effort than being open to other things. It’s kind of like how Nokia abandoned Symbian for WP7 because they couldn’t compete. This is a win for both BB users and Android users. But unless a formal partnership is announced, it just seems like RIM is curtailing off of Android’s success and throwing Android a “bone” by giving them a stripped down version of BBM.
Also nobody is stopping Apple from denying it in the appstore if it comes around.
greate ideea. but i use instead of bb messenger whatsapp messenger that 1. it`s free for the 1st year and 2. works on blackberry, android, symbyan
Coming from a BB I totally understand the love and importance of BBM to BB users. I miss it but it wasn’t going to keep me from getting my Incredible. Interested to see what they release.
How do you srip down a I’M app? You type, hit send, person types back, hits send. Its cool that we’ll be able to avoid texting charges when sending messages to our technophobe friends and family members but just because we won’t be able to see the same smile face animation that only 12 year old girls should be usung doesn’t mean we’ll be missing out on some great BBM experience.
With all of these BB-Android rumors, it makes me wonder if they’re collaborating or something. Like a better OS that mixes the business of Blackberry with the pleasure of Android. Hmmm…
As a Blackberry Storm II convert to Droid X I must say that BBM was one of the few things I missed about Blackberry. It ran well, had seamless integration, did not drain the battery and had excellent group chat support. That being said, many people I communicate with still sadly use Blackberrys. And they don’t like to use other systems. Plus we don’t pay for texting. So a BBM app for Android would be awesome for me as long as it doesn’t eat battery.
Besides the fact that you’re not being charged as a text for using BBM, I am able to IM family in Spain and the Dominican Republic via BBM at no extra charged. This is really convenient for me, its quicker than using sms plus without character restrictions.
You really have to have used BBM for a while to really appreciate it. As an avid business BB user for many years before Android, BBM is definitely the main thing I miss as well. The advantage of BBM is a little hard to quantify but from an IT perspective one nice thing is it was audit capable. It also does presence awareness very well telling you when you message has been read and notifies you when the other person is typing something to you. There are just a lot of great features that most standard chat apps don’t replicate.
Kennon said it best- the awareness of messages having been read and seeing a reply being typed is more significant to a BBM user than anyone else can imagine. It takes texting up a notch that once you’ve used it, you truly appreciate.
@Kennon no offence but doesnt google chat do all that stuff too? Never used BB so I (like many others) are just wondering why we, non BB users, would want this on android, and why it needs to be there?
im lost on why we would want bbm/should care its coming. Ive talked with my friend that has a bb and we just used a regular IM app. I will admit ive never used it, so if someone could explain why its so great and better then having g-talk or other similar messengers
New rumor – lets run with it and see if we can make it happen:
BlackBerry realized they cannot keep up in terms of OS development and Nokia already went to WP7, so RIM has decided to re-building there enterprise capabilities on top of Android. This will allow them to keep their enterprise customers, but also compete in the consumer market.
It’s better so you can connect to all your friends who use bbm and not google talk or something else. I have a lot of friends and family using bbm and while not always can I reach them at google talk, they always have bbm on. Being able to bbm them would be fantastic. Convincing all my friends to use a third party app is simply not an option.
I still use a BB and am planning on switching to Android once they support Cloud music streaming (so I can consolidate my BB and iPod), and the only thing I can anticipate missing is BBM. BUT I DONT KNOW WHY. The logical side of my brain tells me that it really is no different than any other IMing app on other phones, but there is just something about it that I cannot quantify or describe that makes it really effortless and just really pleasant. Does anyone have any ideas as to what hidden signals RIM is putting into the BBM program that makes me adore it so illogically? Have they somehow hit upon the absolute perfect font size that while imperceptible to the eyes just connects with the human soul?
I had a BB for 7 months and never used BBM even once. Maybe that’s because I only knew one other BB user. But the appeal of BBM is completely lost on me.
Kik does all that…only reason BBM is so popular is that it came pre-installed on BlackBerrys. If AIM was preloaded, that would be the go-to choice for BB users. It’s good to see RIM coming this way though. If only they’d make an Android phone, then they’d be in business.
Having used yahoo messenger, MSN messenger, Skype, gtalk etc I don’t see how another messenger among the hordes of messaging apps on Android. All of them archive messages, give message delivery failure reports, some do group chat, video etc. The BBM won’t be much different, probably people who have used it for a long while might prefer something familiar to them and may choose BBM. When gtalk is already present on Android I don’t see the extra value of another messenger and waste more internal memory. But choice is welcome as different apps will suit different folks even though all messaging apps can do messaging well.
Why people love BBM is being able to see when the message was read. It puts pressure on you to reply if you read it. I have seen this in action with friends who have BB’s. I dont care for texting much so this is not for me, but I can see RIM aligning itself with Android in a way, and intergrating parts of it into BB OS. Not a bad idea IMO, as it could allow current BB users to feel they have good options. RIM should make a pure touch screen phone with media and web focus.
A lot of you seem to act as if you have to have this on your android once it’s released. You can ask the question “why does this exist” or “why is this on android” to a majority of the applications in the market, and the answer is “because we can” and if i may be cliche “because droid does”. This is just ANOTHER option for people to use as a messaging service. Whether it be google talk, or aim, or yahoo chat, or bbm, it’s just another option. When I had a bb, I used bbm occasionally and it’s a pretty solid seamless messaging app but its really not much different than any other (with the exception of being able to see when messages are read, or a recipient is responding). So will I use bbm when its released? Probably not, because it has no major advantage to me over the standard text app. But will someone else find it advantageous and enjoy using it over other applications? Most definitely yes.
not sure what all this QNX is all about if they plan to move to android anyway
Yey! It’s an Instant Messenger! At last I’ve been waiting for someone to launch one on Android! There’s none in the Market, and one didn’t come pre-installed on the phone either!
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Yes, there was sarcasm there. I am totally aware of Google Talk, Meebo and the like.
Integration… not segregation. Good job RIM.
Will this fix sprint from chopping all my dispatch at 80 chars? Thats the only thing that bugs me on my evo. All the BBs getting the full call and I get nothing.
This could be awesome..
I think one of the important things we aren’t talking about here is that BBM is not only free it also uses push technology. Even if you don’t have a data plan it works, which is why it’s very popular with kids.
Most of the other IM client on Android require access to the internet, so providing you have a data plan you should be fine, if not, its going to cost you.
Also if it doesn’t use push technology which is only available in android 2.2 and above, then the app will have to poll at regular intervals to check for messages which is why apps that poll often runs your battery down quickly.
I missed my BB for about two seconds after I got my Incredible, but I have fond memories of my old Curve. The BBM is great messenger, it gives a nice feel for conversation. Great to see RIM thinking outside the box. Now if they could try making a phone worthy of 2011…. id tip my hat and keep my DInc!
RIM has to see the writing on the wall…Why not give your company a chance now and move to Android OS…
Windows Mobile 7 ? Done too…. Nokia too…They are going to spend millions on developing a competing OS and then what? I would never provide development services for these platforms…Maybe I shouldn’t say never…but not develop expertise for it without financial coaxing… :-)
If you can’t beat them. Join them….finally time for global domination …Bwa-haha.
From an international perspective, its all about the encryption. BBM blows all other IM apps out of the water in this regard. Push technology, msg receipts, etc are all nice but its hard to beat the secure network that RIM provides. Thats why this is important.
I tink bb is trying to get android fans to switch to black berry
Allowing cross-communication is a good thing. RIM understands that not everyone uses BlackBerry, just like not everyone uses iOS or Android. People that have a great IM client built into their phones (BBM) are less likely to install a separate application to do the same thing. Blackberry users arent as likely to install an IM client on their phone as an iOS or Android user. I think this is a great move on RIM’s part and if they use a freemium service model they will probably make a great deal of money as well.
If BBM becomes a service they win
Screw your other chat services, thats a brilliant idea for blackberry, i wonder what their plans are to profit. many directions they may take it
wen is it coming out tho