The Unofficial BlackBerry Weblog
According to a Wall Street Journal report, BlackBerry is weighing the benefits of spinning of its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) instant messaging service into a separate company.
The report also indicates that BlackBerry is moving some of its executives over to the BBM team before in an effort to expand BBM’s current offerings.
[Read more…] about BlackBerry May Spin BBM Off Into New Company
For years BBM has been, unofficially, more than just an abbreviation for BlackBerry Messenger. It’s been a noun: “Hit me up on BBM.” It’s been a verb: “BBM me when you get here”. It’s even been the title of a song…
What BBM is today, however, is an official term in the Collins English Dictionary…
The inclusion of BBM in the Collins English dictionary recognizes its status as one of the world’s most popular mobile social networks. In recent years, the term ‘BBM’ has transcended its technological origins to become a brand that is part of the everyday language of millions of people all over the world… We’re honoured that a word used daily by millions of our customers has been officially welcomed into the English language. — T.A. McCann, VP of BBM and Social Communities at Research in Motion
Despite the problems Research in Motion is having, BBM is not one of them. BlackBerry Messenger is one of the most popular mobile IM clients in existence with over 56 million users, 70% of whom use it on a daily basis.
[Via Mobile Syrup]
I personally have been calling for Research in Motion to take BBM cross platform since March of 2011.
Although rumors pointing to such a move are pretty easy to find, BlackBerry Messenger, what I believe to be the best mobile IM client of all time, is still only available on BlackBerry devices, and, sadly, has a shrinking potential user base.
Former BBMers, like myself, would return to using BBM on our non-BlackBerry OS smartphone operating systems in a heartbeat, if it were available, but the truth of the matter is that the longer you go without using BBM, the less you long for it.
[Read more…] about The Number One Reason RIM Should Take BBM Cross Platform…
My youngest brother just graduated from college this past Saturday, and, on Sunday had a graduation party / open house where I was able to see a lot of old friends and family that I don’t regularly see.
One of the more interesting conversations that I got into was if there was anyway that one could run BBM on Android or iOS.
There isn’t, of course, but, the meme that seemed to get started was that it would really be cool if there were.
My question to you is, “Should RIM take BlackBerry Messenger cross platform?”
We would love to hear what you think, so, drop us a comment and let us know how you feel…
Most BlackBerry users know that their smartphones are of the most effective communication devices ever conceived, and, when it comes to social media, BlackBerry devices are absolute powerhouses when it comes to checking in, tweeting, liking, and sharing, etc.
You’ve got to, however, make sure you have the right apps installed on your BlackBerry to stay connected socially while on the go, so, we’ve compiled a quick list of Social Networking Apps that every BlackBerry user should install.
[Read more…] about 5 Social Networking Apps Every BlackBerry User Should Install
We’ve heard rumors that Research in Motion would license BlackBerry Messenger for use on non-BlackBerry platforms for some time.
A big part of former RIM co-CEO and board member, Jim Balsillie’s, plan for turning things around including licensing BBM and other proprietary services currently available only to BlackBerry users.
Even though RIM CEO Thorsten Heins is open to certain types of licensing deals with other hardware manufactures, it doesn’t look like BlackBerry Messenger is going cross platform anytime soon. [Read more…] about It Doesn’t Look Like Any BBM Licensing Deals Are Coming Any Time Soon
Research in Motion today, at CES 2012, has officially unveiled BlackBerry OS 7.1 which brings a familiar look and feel to existing BlackBeryr 7 devices, but, ads Mobile HotSpot support, NFC Tag support, and FM radio support to select BlackBerry Curve models.
Along with the BlackBerry 7.1 update, BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry Travel, and BlackBerry Traffic have been updated as well.
[Read more…] about Press Release: RIM officially unveils BlackBerry OS 7.1
BlackBerry Messenger has been updated to v6.0.1 and, if not already, will soon be available for download in BlackBerry App World.
BlackBerry Messenger 6.0.1 features include:
It turns out that the rumor that BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 was delayed until February true, and, as has been the case lately with RIM, the reality for RIM turns out to be worse than the rumor. Not only is BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 not coming out until Feb., it will not include native BBM support.
BlackBerry Messenger has received an update to version 6.0.0.129 and is now available for download via BlackBerry App World. We haven’t seen a change log for BlackBerry Messenger v6.0.0.129, however, “Show What I’m Listening To” is back.