After first announcing that its popular BBM messaging service would be arriving on iOS and Android sometime during the summer, BlackBerry finally confirmed in a blog post today that the app would be released on Sept. 21 for Android followed by a release on iOS on Sept. 22.
BBM will be available as a free download for Android smartphones running Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean (Android 4.x) beginning at 7AM EDT on September 21. BBM for iPhones running iOS 6 and iOS 7 will become available for each market on the App Store schedule of 12:01 AM local time on September 22. For more information, or to download BBM for Android or iPhone, visit www.BBM.com.
BBM for iPhone and Android will initially include chat, photo and voice note sharing, multi-person chats with up to 30 people, and the ability to post status updates and personal messages. However, BlackBerry says the apps will get BBM Channels in a future updates:
BBM will continue to evolve quickly. Later this year, BBM Channels will provide a forum for active, real conversations between you and the people, brands, celebrities, artists, service providers, communities and more, that matter to you. By creating a Channel, individuals and brands can engage their friends and communities in conversations sparked by their thoughts, ideas and passions. Subscribing to a Channel will let you join conversations with people who share your interests. In addition, BBM Video calling and BBM Voice calling are planned for availability for Android and iPhone in a future version.
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Super excited … Can’t wait …
Practically no one uses iMessage, can’t wait to reach all my friends and family on their blackberries … what a joke!
They just waited too long to have something like this…too little too late, BlackBerry.
Does the app let me send messages back to 2008? If not, I’m kind of missing the point here.
I guess now ill text my one friend with an android phone and see if they read it……
Yes please, finally! Meet people using BBM, sharing their pins at this great BBM Social Network http://bbmpins.net/browse
This will help people like me who prefer an iPhone but am stuck in a sea of Blackberries at work. We use BBM a lot and now it is one less reason for me to carry the BB and the iPhone…