The BBM service has always been popular amongst users as they can message each other for free and this has been one of the main reasons for the success of BlackBerry devices which saw the popularity shift from business users to younger mobile owners.
BBM has long stood as a flagship service from the BlackBerry maker and now it looks like after all this time it will be made available to users on Android and iOS. So if you use the Samsung Galaxy S4 and miss the BBM service or want to see what all the fuss is about on your iPhone 5 then you soon will be able to sample it.
BlackBerry Chief Executive Thorsten Heins made the announcement at the annual developer’s conference which was held in Florida. The initial roll out of the app will give Android and Apple users the IM service with photo messaging and group sharing functions.
Additional service currently enjoyed by BBM users including screen sharing and voice and video calls will be added later in the year.
With apps like Whatsapp rumoured to be adding voice calls to their service and Facebook already offering its own messaging service and Google working on its own platform opening up the BBM service to a broader audience could be a good move.
However as this has been a unique selling point for BlackBerry devices for many years, making this open to users on other mobile devices could be the final nail in the coffin for the flailing BlackBerry company.
Would you try BBM on your Android device? Do you think you will try it on your iPhone? Would you use this instead of a service such as Whatsapp? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or join us on Facebook and tell us what you think.
Written by: Carmel Brown