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- Following the above news, BlackBerry is opening BBM Enterprise (BBMe) to all end users with an Android app available now. Service will be free for the first year, then $2.49 for six months.
The end of an era approaches — the consumer-facing version of the once esteemed BlackBerry Messenger will be shutting down on May 31, 2019. This announcement came from a short blog post from Emtek (who handles BBM), with the title "Time to Say Goodbye." Somber news, indeed.
When it comes to Android, BlackBerry has the PRIV, and it also has BBM. The messaging app received an update last month that added support for Marshmallow permissions and removed privacy features from behind a paywall. Now users in the US and Canada have the option to start streaming video.
BlackBerry is all about Android these days with the PRIV leading the charge. The company hasn't forgotten about BBM, though. The app has gotten a few significant updates since it came out, and today there's another major one with better notification control, proper support for Marshmallow permissions, and more. Plus, all privacy and control features are no longer behind the paywall.
When the BBM app came out a few years ago, it was not very attractive. It continued to be unattractive right up to this very day, but now the material design update has rolled out to the Play Store. Suddenly, it looks quite nice.
I never thought I'd live to see the day when BBM adopted an actually decent design on Android. I remember using the messaging service when it first came out on our platform, and it was a horrid experience from the tiny emojis to the clunky interface to the fact that everything didn't look right on Android. But BBM has been improving over the past months, adding Android Wear support, a landscape mode, message retraction, and more. The app is about to get another boost forward this time with a Material overhaul.
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- The update version 2.7.0.20 is now live in the Play Store. Alternatively, you can grab it from APKMirror.
BlackBerry will not be ignored, guys. While you're off gawking at the new Samsung and HTC phones, BlackBerry is slaving away to roll out a new version of BBM for Android. How about a little appreciation, huh? The update, which is expected tomorrow (3/2), includes the promised Android Wear support and a few other interesting features.
A messaging service is only useful so long as a certain amount of your contacts use it along with you. So we'll refrain from making jokes at BlackBerry's expense (not a small effort, mind you) or pointing you towards alternatives like Hangouts or WhatsApp. If you use BlackBerry Messenger, and your friends and/or associates do too, pointing out other options isn't going to do much for you. But here's something that will: BBM is getting Android Wear support!
There's a certain permanence to most instant messaging apps. The second you hit send, that's it, the message is out of your hands. You better hope you sent it to the right contact, fixed those embarrassing typos, or spelled their name correctly. Unless you're using the latest version of BBM, in which case you can call take backsies.
BlackBerry's looking for ways to make money these days since producing phones just doesn't pay the bills like it used to, and it looks like BBM's latest app update - which has just gone live in the Play Store - introduces one such new approach. Starting with version 2.1 of the instant messaging app, users can head over to the freshly opened BBM Shop and walk out with any of a variety of sticker packs. The idea isn't at all new, but that doesn't make it any less amusing. Each of BBM's packs contain around 20 to 25 stickers. Some go for free, but others cost $1.99.
Say what you will about BlackBerry's viability as a company, but the Canadian smartphone firm's messaging app is quickly shaping up into a powerful client. Today, BB announced that BBM 2.0 for Android is out now, and it adds a whole lotta stuff to the app's growing feature resume.
BBM for Android is officially out. We reviewed it. And while it looks like there's a little bit of fishy business going on with ratings and reviews of the app in the Play Store, the number of downloads obviously isn't all fake - there's substantial interest in this app. But from who? BBM as a platform has been the exclusive privilege of BlackBerry owners since its public introduction in 2006, and it has never featured interoperability with any other IM service. Until last week, the audience for BBM was shrinking on a daily basis, as BlackBerry continues its rather lamentable death spiral into irrelevance with every quarterly earnings call.
The BBM app might have made a real impact if it had arrived a few years ago, but it's not very impressive in today's Android ecosystem. However, the app is currently sitting at a very respectable 4.2 stars in Google Play. Good for BlackBerry, right? Well, maybe not. Starting on the first page there is a strange pattern of mostly 5-star reviews with identical or very similar wording. Something is fishy.
For many moons, Android users were crying out for a unified messaging solution, and Blackberry Messenger seemed like a good solution. As Android was starting to take off in late 2009, BlackBerry (at the time RIM) was already feeling pressure from the iPhone, so why not branch out and get users hooked on BBM? Perhaps management was in denial as the co-CEOs actively dismissed the clear trends in mobile around that time. It's taken all these years for the company to let its precious messaging service out of its Canadian cage. BBM is on Android at long last, but is it too late to matter?
After a number of delays and an untold number of fake spam apps, BBM for Android is about to really arrive in Google Play. This will mark the first time Blackberry's premier messaging service has been available on a non-Blackberry device. You'll be able to download the app today, but you might not be able to actually use it.
The day is finally coming, ladies and gentlemen. After more than four months since the announcement that Blackberry would be bringing its incredibly popular messaging service to Android (and iOS), we finally have a launch date. In an official blog post today, the recently-renamed company announced that the app would hit the Play Store on Saturday, September 21st promptly at 7:00 AM Eastern Time. We've been seeing more and more leaks of the app as of late, so this announcement isn't much of a surprise. Still, it's nice to finally have something concrete.
BlackBerry announced back in May that it would make BlackBerry Messenger available for both Android and iOS devices this summer. The clock is ticking, as the season will come to a close in a matter of weeks. BBM is not yet available in the Play Store, but a video of the beta version running on Android has hit the wild. This is a working mirror, as the video has been pulled from the original site.
This morning we were alerted to a possible Blackberry Messenger sighting in the Play Store, but upon closer inspection, it was immediately obvious that this app is beyond fake. The problem is it already has 100,000+ installs, it's been sitting in the Play Store since Friday, and Google hasn't done anything to remove the listing yet.
T-Mobile UK Says BlackBerry Messenger For Android Is Coming June 27th [Update: Nope!]
BlackBerry announced last month that its beloved BlackBerry Messenger service would be coming to Android. Although, the company didn't offer a date when
BlackBerry announced last month that its beloved BlackBerry Messenger service would be coming to Android. Although, the company didn't offer a date when BBM would be available. Don't tell T-Mobile UK any of your secrets, because it just let it slip on Twitter that the big day is June 27th.
Blackberry Announces BBM For Android And iOS, Coming 'This Summer'
While details are scant at the moment, Blackberry just dropped a bomb at BBLive: Blackberry Messenger is coming to iOS and Android "this summer" as a
While details are scant at the moment, Blackberry just dropped a bomb at BBLive: Blackberry Messenger is coming to iOS and Android "this summer" as a standalone application. After years of rumors, the company is finally taking the plunge and making its most popular app multi-platform. Brilliant.
