[ian8206]

So I've made the switch about a month ago from iPhone. I was never a "fan boy," I always hated iTunes among other things but this isn't why I'm making this post. Now I'm a big supporter of BB and the Z10 (I am on CrackBerry after all)but being new to these devices there's something that isn't quite clear to me...

What is the big deal about BBM? This feature is something I always heard about, more so than any other feature from a different platform (but the live weather apps from Samsung were big too). I have played around with it and its usefulness is lost on me.

Don't most people have unlimited text messaging? In fact don't most smartphone plans have this? All I really see is the ability to put up your own profile picture, put a cute little status message and see that your friend has read your BBM message. Were there features removed from BB10 that were on older operating systems? Or has BBM become antiquated with the introduction of unlimited texting? Because honestly the friends I have on BBM I just text because at least that way it contributes to the accumulation of Fido dollars (which is BS in itself but we won't get into that).

[tdaye]

BBM has voice chat, video chat, screen sharing ect.

Posted from my Z10. via CB10

[I Am Chupacabra]

Well for me personally, back on the old platform I thought the same thing. Just start using it and it's advantage over texting and other chat clients just grows on you and becomes very apparent... Although my contact list is a lot smaller then it used to be I have little use for it now. Slowing getting contacts back with bb10 though.

Posted via CB10

[Camelhmpz]

Ya, youre on the right path. BBM was popular back in the day when texting was nearly pay per texts and it could add up, plus BBRY had the smartphone market by the balls, so if you used BBM, you could text away to nearly everyone for free using BlackBerry's servers. Its kinda like iPhones "iMessages" however they were a little smarter and incorporated this directly into the Text messages app so you didn't have two programs. BBM isn't as popular here in the states, but it elsewhere.

[GrognardGames]

I don't think the OP is trolling, that's unfair. BBM is not unique, screen sharing is good but really, so what about everything else. Anyone can SMS & MMS, and let's be frank, video calling (at least here in the UK) has been commonplace feature-wise since the 3G auctions. I worked for Orange for 9 years, and have worked in comms for 17 years straight overall and have yet to see BBM as any form of must have service or app. That's not trolling, it's a simple statement of opinion that you don't have to like, but it doesn't make it any less true in mine or the OP's instance.

*The post this was in reply to has been deleted.

[Berry_Pink]

seems like a reasonable question to me, people need to stop throwing the word troll around to anything that isnt licking blackberrys boots and praising the z10 like its a god

@OP im not sure about BB10 but on my old 9900 it has bbm groups which allow you to share pictures with up to around 20-30 people, create discussion sections (like a mini forum i guess) on different subjects for example in the tech group i used to be in we had a section on general chat, hardware, software, hybrid upgrades etc etc, it also had an option to broadcast a message to everyone on your bbm list but it wouldnt then force your bbm into one whole chat youd have to leave it would just be an individual response from each, as said above it has voice chat and on bb10 it also has video chat and screenshare

[Mercury]

So I've made the switch about a month ago from iPhone. I was never a "fan boy," I always hated iTunes among other things but this isn't why I'm making this post. I'm a big supporter of BB and the Z10 now but being new to these devices there's something that isn't quite clear to me...

What is the big deal about BBM? This feature is something I always heard about, more so than any other feature from a different platform (but the live weather apps from Samsung were big too). I have played around with it and its usefulness is lost on me.

Don't most people have unlimited text messaging? In fact don't most smartphone plans have this? All I really see is the ability to put up your own profile picture, put a cute little status message and see that your friend has read your BBM message. Were there features removed from BB10 that were on older operating systems? Or has BBM become antiquated with the introduction of unlimited texting? Because honestly the friends I have on BBM I just text because at least that way it contributes to the accumulation of Fido dollars (which is BS in itself but we won't get into that).

maybe you should check out this link BlackBerry Messenger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You know how iphone has iMessage and facetime? Well BlackBerry was the first mobile platform to have a messaging system in place that allowed you send messages anywhere in the world for free to any other blackberry user.

Sure there is Yahoo, Aol, (msn RIP) and google chat, but BBM is done over a secure network where your chats can't be intercepted. In the past 5 months, BB added voice and with BB10 they added video chat as well.

iMessage came out very recently, and one of the biggest draws to the instant messaging craze of BBM and iMessage was the ability to send a message, and then see if it has been read or not.

As well, no need to give out your cellphone number, as if there is someone you don't want to talk to anymore, you can block and delete and they will never be able to contact you again.

[KTJ7679]

I know that in the UK it is favoured by chavs on Pay as you go, so they don't have to use their credit to arrange riots etc
I use it but only for international contacts so it is free to keep in touch, and also for people that I don't want to have my number.
I have 13 contacts... unlike the chavs mentioned before who have hundreds!

[backfire101]

A lot of countries don't have unlimited texting and charge extra when crossing borders.

[annon91221]

You can write a 2000 words essay, or share an article with your contact. BTW, BBM groups is also a very neat feature...

Posted via CB10

[Bla1ze]

Don't most people have unlimited text messaging? In fact don't most smartphone plans have this?

Why would I pay for text messaging when I have most of the people I talk to on BBM? I'm already paying for my data which BBM uses.

See how that can go both ways? lol.

[LordCrankypants]

So I've made the switch about a month ago from iPhone. I was never a "fan boy," I always hated iTunes among other things but this isn't why I'm making this post. I'm a big supporter of BB and the Z10 now but being new to these devices there's something that isn't quite clear to me...

What is the big deal about BBM? This feature is something I always heard about, more so than any other feature from a different platform (but the live weather apps from Samsung were big too). I have played around with it and its usefulness is lost on me.

Don't most people have unlimited text messaging? In fact don't most smartphone plans have this? All I really see is the ability to put up your own profile picture, put a cute little status message and see that your friend has read your BBM message. Were there features removed from BB10 that were on older operating systems? Or has BBM become antiquated with the introduction of unlimited texting? Because honestly the friends I have on BBM I just text because at least that way it contributes to the accumulation of Fido dollars (which is BS in itself but we won't get into that).

The big deal about BBM is:

1. Secure chat - something that no other messaging app can claim. Might not mean much to you as a consumer, but think about it from a business perspective. Makes communicating much easier knowing that your conversation can't be looked in on by others.

2. Uses data vs. SMS, meaning you can message people all over the world at no extra cost. It also provides selivery and read receipts. Yes, WhatsApp, iMessage and others do the same thing, but BBM came first. Factor this in with no. 1 above and you'll see why this is big.

3. The conversation logs are only stored locally on the phones (that I know of). AKAIK, BlackBerry does not keep logs of BBM conversations, so when it's gone from your phone and the person you are chatting with, the conversation is gone completely. This also ties in with no. 1 above. Text messages are all logged by service providers and can be called upon by authorities if required. I don't believe the same can be said about BBM chats.

4. Screen share (BB10 only). The ability to not only share your screen and demonstrate what you are talking about, but also do that securely is a huge deal, especially for businesses (BB still caters to Enterprise users). Makes collaboration and troubleshooting much easier. It's also handy for the consumer because now you can share photos, videos or whatever you want with people without having to try to send it to them. And it won't cost you any more data than a standard video conversation.

There's more, but I will stop there. BBM was, and still is, a big deal for the cell phone market. Other apps and manufacturers will try to downplay the importance of BBM, because they know how important it is, and how much better BBM is at doing those things (and more).

JB

[bnee007]

We don't have unlimited texts in the Caribbean so BBM is very big here. As a matter of fact, most plans only have some local sms free, international sms is charged differently.

[rickkel]

The #1 feature for my family is BBM Groups. I don't know if other platforms have a similar feature, but I've set our family up with a BBM Group which is primarily used for the calendar feature. When anyone has something to schedule, we just have to bring up the Group calendar through BBM and see if there is anything that conflicts. If not, schedule it and everyone in the BBM Group gets notification of it being added. And if you make sure and add a reminder, everyone is also reminded to actually go to the event. No longer can anyone say "Oh, I forgot about that _____". Even better, if we just go into the Calendar feature on the phone, we've set the default new entry calendar to our BBM Group (you can change it to a private entry if you like). That way all entries to one calendar are shared automatically to everyone else with a "ping" through BBM. The #1 best feature of BlackBerry.

[Spawn12]

I honestly cant remember the last time i texted someone, even though i have unlimited texts on my tariff. All the people i talk to, whether they be on Blackberry or another platform i can keep in touch with via bbm or whatsapp. Those 2 are my most used instant messaging apps that i use constantly.

Plus the biggest advantage with BBM is that no matter where i am in the world, i can still keep in touch with family and friends...same goes for whatsapp as well. Although saying data romaing charges are expensive so i tend to stick to wifi spots ie hotel or restaurants etc.

I personally think sms texts are now more or less redundant now and wouldnt be at all surprised if at some point in the future, text messaging disappears completely.

[ciprianmuresan]

The easiest way to explain to an iPhone user what BBM is would be this : an iMessage on steroids

[nhanken]

BBM is the most secure way to send text messages, video chats/video conferencing, screen sharing of what you're doing with other BlackBerry users as compared to any other platforms that are offered for free or at a certain cost out there. From time to time we always hear it on the news that this government and that government are so annoyed that they can't spy on some people because they're using BBM. Until our personal info are compromised, people just don't realize how important security is =)



Posted via CB10

[robsteve]

The BBM groups is a great feature for use by a family. If you have wifi at home, the BBM voice also makes a great intercom.

The other thing about BBM is it is very reliable. We were on vacation last week and one of the places we went had a drive through an area with no cell coverage. At one point I sent a message, expecting it to go when we got back into cell coverage and when I looked it had gone well before we got into a cell coverage area. I assume we got coverage for a few seconds and the message went through. You have seen stories about this with natural disasters, BBM can make it through with sketchy service, when texting does not work.

[ian8206]

This is starting to become a lot more clear. I should have specified, I wasn't able to use imessage because my phone was unlocked + jailbroken so I couldn't do updates.
I think the problem is I need more BBM contacts for it to be used to it's full potential. I never even considered the fact it's free over borders (no international contacts, however, but still a great feature).

@Berry_Pink - Mini forum is a great way to describe how BBM groups work. I can see how I'd use this feature now, like a distribution list.

And thanks to those sticking up for me. I'm not a troll... For God sakes I said I disliked my iPhone and love this Z10. I just wanted people with experience using BBM to describe its uses in plain terms. So thanks to those who answered, next time I'll have to take a picture of me holding my device with a big smile on my face to prove I'm asking honestly.

[southlander]

The usefulness of BBM and BIS in general can be lost on you if you've not traveled a lot and used it (and BIS) in areas where the cell service is very weak. I have been at large events (like Comicon in San Diego) and in remote places (ski vacations), and experienced situations where only BBM and BlackBerry Email were reliable. My family and work have BlackBerrys and thus I was able to send and receive messages. SMS would fail. Voice would fail. And forget about using anything like Whatsapp, etc.

The same thing has happened in many crisis situations, such as 911 -- where BlackBerrys services were then only reliable mobile services due to the "regular" carrier pipes being flooded with traffic.

That said, as a general messaging platform, day to day, in situations where you and those you are connecting with have reliable SMS, BBM is not all that special.

Moreover I am talking about traditional BBM and BlackBerrys. BlackBerry 10 on the consumer side does not use BIS. So I am not sure if BBM is any less reliable. It still routes through BlackBerry though. Not sure if it is the same exact service in terms of compression, etc. (?)

[allisos]

A subtle, yet clearly important feature for me, is the notifications of "sent" with a check, delivered with a "D", read with an "R", AND the import so and so "is typing a message". This allows you to stay glued to your phone for an important or time sensitive conversation, as you know another message is coming. Its subtle, but running a time sensitive business minutes can be critical. (or even remembering to bring home something for a special female of the house). The ability to do everything else, just removes any excuse to avoid it. (file sharing, screen sharing, voice/video chat) Also it avoids plan charges for people communicating globally.

[Spawn12]

The other thing i love about BBM is that i can send a message and forget about it being sent as i know 99.9999% of the time it will send through.

This is apparent if im in an area that has sketchy coverage or am underground on the london tube system...soon as i hit some reception, the message goes through whereas with text messaging it will try a few times then fail and then you will have to re-send the message again.

[sxchan]

maybe you should check out this link BlackBerry Messenger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You know how iphone has iMessage and facetime? Well BlackBerry was the first mobile platform to have a messaging system in place that allowed you send messages anywhere in the world for free to any other blackberry user.

Sure there is Yahoo, Aol, (msn RIP) and google chat, but BBM is done over a secure network where your chats will be intercepted. In the past 5 months, BB added voice and with BB10 they added video chat as well.

iMessage came out very recently, and one of the biggest draws to the instant messaging craze of BBM and iMessage was the ability to send a message, and then see if it has been read or not.

As well, no need to give out your cellphone number, as if there is someone you don't want to talk to anymore, you can block and delete and they will never be able to contact you again.

You mentioned something great and that with BBM you do not need to share your personal contact information (such as your phone #), you can send a BBM request with your PIN. That way it becomes even more secure if you ever want to stop talking with the person.

**Someone please correct me if I am wrong about this.

But as many have mentioned, as you can BBM from anywhere in the world and it's the best chat feature out there that others have tried to copy.

[deysi mejia]

So I've made the switch about a month ago from iPhone. I was never a "fan boy," I always hated iTunes among other things but this isn't why I'm making this post. Now I'm a big supporter of BB and the Z10 (I am on CrackBerry after all)but being new to these devices there's something that isn't quite clear to me...

What is the big deal about BBM? This feature is something I always heard about, more so than any other feature from a different platform (but the live weather apps from Samsung were big too). I have played around with it and its usefulness is lost on me.

Don't most people have unlimited text messaging? In fact don't most smartphone plans have this? All I really see is the ability to put up your own profile picture, put a cute little status message and see that your friend has read your BBM message. Were there features removed from BB10 that were on older operating systems? Or has BBM become antiquated with the introduction of unlimited texting? Because honestly the friends I have on BBM I just text because at least that way it contributes to the accumulation of Fido dollars (which is BS in itself but we won't get into that).

[sam_b77]

I'm sorry but I have to say this, the OP seems like a drive by shooting.

Posted via CB10