The consumer version of BBM is shutting down, though BlackBerry is swinging in to rescue users still clinging to the storied instant messaging service. While BBM - née BlackBerry Messenger - may have once been the glue that kept BlackBerry users addicted to their phones, in recent years more capable rivals have stolen market share.
Thank goodness, BBM Video has arrived (as a public Beta) in the United States this week. I, personally, was beginning to think it'd never arrive. Because I forgot that it existed, to be entirely honest. But now that it's here, BBM Video from Blackberry will be good to test against the masses of video messaging services that may have become complacent in the absence of any real massive competition. OR it'll be fun to speak with your one friend with a BlackBerry phone with video, at last.
More and more iOS apps these are adding Apple Watch support, with many coming from the email and other communication categories. When it comes to direct messaging, however, the big apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are still missing in action. Fortunately for fans of BlackBerry's BBM messaging service, they can now look forward to their Apple Watch being compatible. The BBM app for iOS has been updated, and is available now from the App Store.
The first BlackBerry Android device has been leaked with a series of photos up close and personal. These images show the device to have a touchscreen display and slide-out keyboard - a hardware keyboard, that is - and a relatively sizable back-facing camera. This device has a number of BlackBerry-specific software features in addition to its notable odd hardware. You'll notice slightly modified icons as well as a set of BlackBerry-made apps, new to Android entirely.
We might have thought that BBM, once one of BlackBerry's defining products, was on its death throes before it finally landed on Android. But once it did make its way to the platform, it seems that the messaging service has found a bit of reprieve. According to a study done by analytics provider Quettra, it might be even more than that. Its findings reveal that among other social networking and messaging apps on Android, BBM has the second highest retention rate among users, something that BlackBerry is only too happy to point out.
BlackBerry was once accused of dragging it heels when it came to finally adding support for Android devices for BBM, but now that the gates have been opened, it seems that the company is happily making strides. In fact, while it doesn't have yet a wearable device of its own, it is jumping onto the market by proxy. BlackBerry has just announced an update to BBM on all platforms with a lot of new features, one of which lets you view and reply to messages on your Android Wear smartwatch.
It's not that the CEO of BlackBerry, John Chen, doesn't know what Net Neutrality means. It's just that he - and the rest of the company - want it to mean something that also happens to be extremely beneficial to them. Chen suggests that Net Neutrality should include apps and services, and that this means that Apple should be lawfully obligated to release their iMessage app and service to all mobile operating systems, not just iOS - not just the iPhone, but BlackBerry devices too.
Are you ready for BlackBerry? AT&T thinks you are, and will be offering the new Passport exclusively in the US. The big, squared Blackberry that turned heads on launch is coming to AT&T in the coming weeks. If you’re not into the new-look Blackberry, AT&T will also carry the Classic, though they’re not giving availability details on either just yet. If that weren’t enough, BlackBerry’s messaging platform, BBM, is coming to your wrist. That’s right, they’re making BBM available for wearables!
BlackBerry has announced a new mobile solution to help people stay in touch and participate in meetings while on the go. The solution is called BBM Meetings and is a multi-OS voice and video conferencing solution capable of delivering a mobile collaboration experience to enhance productivity for mobile professionals. The system is also designed to reduce costs for businesses according to BlackBerry.
Once Blackberry made BBM available to other platforms, the rush to check out an old favorite was on. We all ran to download the “new” app, find a friend, and revisit old times. Sadly, BBM was pretty much as we all remembered it; a straight-up chat platform. Today, Blackberry is introducing a few features to BBM designed to make their service stand out. Timed messages, message retraction, and HD picture transfer dominate the list, but will it finally get you to use BBM again?
In an effort to remain relevant among the number of chatting apps on people's smartphones today, Blackberry is overhauling its messaging service, BBM, with several new features that are clearly inspired by the popular Snapchat. While currently still in beta, the new update coming soon will introduce disappearing messages on a timer, as well as the ability to retract messages even after they're sent from your phone.
Realizing that its former enterprise territory is no longer just its own, BlackBerry has launched Blend, a tool that plays nice with other platforms. With BlackBerry Blend, you will be able to access BBM and important files stored on your BlackBerry smartphone, whether from a PC, a Mac, an iOS or an Android device.