At BlackBerry Live 2013, currently taking place in Orlando, Florida(US), the smartphone maker announced that it will soon make available its exclusive BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) application of Apple iOS(iPhone) and Google’s Android platform.
All subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play, the BBM application will be compatible on iOS6 and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher.
BlackBerry said in its company blog that in the first version of multi-platform BBM, iOS and Android users are expected to be able to experience the following BBM features:
- The immediacy of BBM chats
- Multi-person chats
- Voice note sharing
- BlackBerry Groups, where BBM users are able to set up groups of up to 30 people and share calendar, photos, files and more
BBM Quick Facts:
- More than 60 million monthly active users
- More than 51 million daily active users who are connecting with friends or colleagues an average of one and a half hours every day.
- BBM users send and receive more than 10 billion messages each day, nearly twice as many messages per user per day as compared to other mobile messaging apps
- Almost half of BBM messages are read within 20 seconds of being received; indicating how truly engaged BBM customers are
The maker of BB10 smartphones also announced the following at BlackBerry Live 2013 so far:
BlackBerry Q5:
- BlackBerry Q5 gives the first taste of the BlackBerry 10 experience to those who want to have the best tools to explore, create and share.
- The new BlackBerry Q5 smartphone will be available in selected markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia (including the Asia Pacific region), and Latin America, with availability beginning in July. No pricing announced yet.
- Every feature, every part of this BlackBerry 10 smartphone has been built to flow and move with the user to help them explore, create and share on the go.
BES 10.1:
- Brings new “Regulated-level” IT policy controls and settings for government agencies and customers in regulated industries who require an advanced level of security, control and logging of BlackBerry 10 smartphones. It also allows customers to support BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry OS smartphones from a single server.
- BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 version 10.1 is free to download and existing BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5 customers can exchange their client access licenses for free through 2013(Terms and conditions apply). To date, 12,000 BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 servers have been installed by customers around the world.
BBM Channels:
- BBM Channels allows individuals and groups to create a dedicated channel and share information and updates with the immediacy that BBM offers. BBM customers around the world will be able to connect and share information, broadcast about themselves to their channel, or join their favorite communities and share their experiences of the channel with their BBM contacts.
- BlackBerry is working with leading global brands around the world to help them build and promote exciting new BBM Channel offerings.
BlackBerry Scholars Program:
- The BlackBerry Scholars Program will provide full, four-year tuition scholarships to outstanding women who are seeking degrees at accredited colleges and universities in the areas of STEM with a particular interest or aptitude in the area of mobile computing.
- This scholarship program is the first step in BlackBerry’s long-term commitment and multi-tiered strategy to engage young women at every step of their education from high school to college, and as they rise through the workforce.
[Source]– BlackBerry Blog
