[xweb10]

Will the new iOS and Android version of BBM aggregate SMS, MMS, and BBM chats in one client? IE: Can I see my regular text messages in the BBM client?

[tlegend2012]

why would you see your texts in BBM?

[nico2004]

BBM will kill text SMS, and mms


BlackBerry Z10, powerful tool indeed.

[Icarus3000]

why would you see your texts in BBM?

There used to be an option in OS6/7 to display text messages within BBM. I don't think that option is available anymore on BB10, so doubt it would be available on iOS or Android.

Would be nice though! The more options the better, why ask why?

[AnimalPak200]

There used to be an option in OS6/7 to display text messages within BBM. I don't think that option is available anymore on BB10, so doubt it would be available on iOS or Android.

Would be nice though! The more options the better, why ask why?

Because someone will get a huge SMS bill after thinking they were using BBM, and blame BlackBerry.

Remember: design to the lowest common denominator,.. and by including iOS and Android users, that denominator just got lower.

Posted via CB10

[Plazmic Flame]

BBM is taking over. There will be no need for regular texts except for when data networks go down. The limited 140 characters per message and media sharing was never going to explode through the universal SMS, it just never evolved or expanded fast enough. BBM is here now to save the day.

[tlegend2012]

There used to be an option in OS6/7 to display text messages within BBM. I don't think that option is available anymore on BB10, so doubt it would be available on iOS or Android.

Would be nice though! The more options the better, why ask why?

I think this will confuse users..

[Pluto is a planet]

Haha do you guys really think BBM will phase out texting? Definitely not in the us at least. Maybe it's because I'm younger but unlimited texting and mms has been ubiquitous for a while now.

Posted via CB10

[xweb10]

why would you see your texts in BBM?

You do not see the benefits of using one app to manage messaging? Isnt that the point of the "Hub" in BB10?

Here is how I see it. Apple integrates iMessages and SMS's into their messaging app. Users do not care whether they are texting or iMessaging their contacts. It just works and all messages are in one place.
When I use BBM on my Android device I would like the app to show all, or most of, my messaging. SMS + MMS + BBM's at a minimum. This would be a nice differentiation from What's App.

So, I guess the answer to my question is "no", BBM for Android and iOS does not do this?

[AnimalPak200]

You do not see the benefits of using one app to manage messaging? Isnt that the point of the "Hub" in BB10?

Here is how I see it. Apple integrates iMessages and SMS's into their messaging app. Users do not care whether they are texting or iMessaging their contacts. It just works and all messages are in one place.
When I use BBM on my Android device I would like the app to show all, or most of, my messaging. SMS + MMS + BBM's at a minimum. This would be a nice differentiation from What's App.

So, I guess the answer to my question is "no", BBM for Android and iOS does not do this?

"It just works..." until you switch from an iPhone and they keep telling other iDevices to continue sending you imessages instead of texts for a few 'extra' weeks...

So yes, No... it doesn't... because it isn't BBM's job to do it.

If you want a feature like that... then you best hope your Android or iPhone rips off BB10's hub. Or... you could just switch to Bb10 since you've just proven the superiority of the Hub.

Posted via CB10

[johnnyuk]

You do not see the benefits of using one app to manage messaging? Isnt that the point of the "Hub" in BB10?

Of course we see those benefits, we use BlackBerry phones! BlackBerry aren't making the Hub cross platform, just BBM. It's up to Apple to implement a unified messaging centre that's as good as the Hub, or up to the user to switch to BlackBerry 10.



Posted via CB10

[howarmat]

No it wont do this in the cross platform version. Heck I dont think it does this on BB10 even

[xweb10]

No it wont do this in the cross platform version. Heck I dont think it does this on BB10 even

Thanks for answering clearly. I forgot how anti- other platform it was around here. I did have a Curve and Storm II before I moved on to Android. I am anti-Apple products, but I do respect them.

I am looking for real tangible benefits over Whats App here, that is why I was asking. I use plain-old SMS most of the time, but would use BBM if others do, too. Most of my friends, family, and colleagues use iPhones and I can barely get them to install What's App, so BBM will be a stretch. That is... unless there is a good reason. Read receipts are nice, but I would like it to unify SMS, too.

Please don't tell me to buy a BlackBerry as that ship has sailed for me unless they are bought out by a strong company that will forge ahead with BB10 development AND app developers jump on board. BB10 looks great, but I will sit on the sideline for now. But I will try BBM on my Droid Maxx!

[AnimalPak200]

Maybe when they get chopped into parts, one of the spinoffs will be the

BlackBerry Hub app...

Available on Google Play and the App Store... for $0.99

.. just kidding, it says BlackBerry... it won't sell unless it's free.

Posted via CB10

[xweb10]

Remember: design to the lowest common denominator,.. and by including iOS and Android users, that denominator just got lower.

I resent that.

[AnimalPak200]

I resent that.

Lol, it was in jest... and, if there is any truth to it, is simply by virtue of the fact that they have hundreds of millions more users to account for (thanks to Android and iOS' massive user base), and thus a higher probability of having to serve less-tech-savvy consumers.

So... it was basically a begrudgingly delivered compliment to your platform's superior popularity.

Posted via CB10

[xweb10]

Lol, it was in jest...

I figured. These are all just phones and all of these OS's work rather well. We all just make a choice that makes us happy. I'm not married to Android but it is what I use at this point. Funny thing is, when I had my Storm II I thought of Android as a buggy, fragmented system that only kids used. Once I tried it out, as of the Ice Cream Sandwich release, buy was I wrong. It did everything my Storm II did plus much more. Who knows... Maybe Ill be on Windows phone next.

[jtfolden]

"It just works..." until you switch from an iPhone and they keep telling other iDevices to continue sending you imessages instead of texts for a few 'extra' weeks...

Only for people who aren't smart enough to sign out of Apple services on the old phone, a safety concern among others. I thought people were all about security over here?

...and yes, the only hope BBM has to get any larger than WhatsApp status, which is a Herculean task for BB as it is, is integration with MMS/SMS. That's the only way I'd ever be tempted to use it, in fact. No one else I know has any apparent interest in BBM.

[iN8ter]

Only for people who aren't smart enough to sign out of Apple services on the old phone, a safety concern among others. I thought people were all about security over here?

...and yes, the only hope BBM has to get any larger than WhatsApp status, which is a Herculean task for BB as it is, is integration with MMS/SMS. That's the only way I'd ever be tempted to use it, in fact. No one else I know has any apparent interest in BBM.

Integration with SMS/MMS is worthless for services that are not integrated with the vendor services.

Too many Android users simply have no clue why iMessage is as popular as it is among Apple's users... ...

1. It's popular because it's tied to your AppleID and integrated transparently into the SMS/MMS app, which every iOS user has when they set their device up. Creating a Blackberry ID is not natural for an iOS user. Same for Android/WP8. Every user will have a Google/Microsoft Account as you cannot even download a free app from the Play/Windows Phone store without one.

2. It's not a 3rd party download. It isn't even a separate app... It's baked into the stock messaging app. The user doesn't even have to know iMessage exists if the store rep enabled it for them when helping them set their device up...

3. It's capabilities are equal to that of SMS/MMS, except things are sent in higher quality (Images, Video) instead of compressed when using iMessage's network. This makes it completely interoperable between the two, allowing you to group iMessage and SMS/MMS recipients into the same Group Message and have them all receive the same content (pretty much, though threading may still be an issue there). IM clients like Hangouts and BBM don't work this way and were not designed as SMS stand-ins. They were designed to stand out as their own messaging service/networks, so this causes interoperability issues IRT application/service capabilities. iMessage does not have this issue. For example, SMS/MMS clients on mid-high end Android devices typically allow you to send more data types than BBM will allow on release. That's just full of issues, and it's why other messaging apps that double as SMS clients do not support MMS - Facebook Messenger, for example.

4. It doesn't make you choose a different default SMS/MMS app. Some platforms do not allow choosing defaults, so the fact that it works for you - ON ANDROID - doesn't mean it will work for everyone else.

5. It's a simple toggle in settings and it just works. Ease of use and convenience goes a long way in pushing services.

Google could have easily cloned iMessage by utilizing Google Talk/Hangouts and simply adding a Phone Number check. Hangouts actually asks for Phone Number confirmation and stores that in your account (and you cannot remove it, so my old phone number will still be linked to my account after someone else gets it - wonderful!). They didn't, so I'm not sure what their plan is on that front. In any case, this type of functionality is a pretty bad user experience unless integrated with stock apps on the device using a vendor or platform login (Google Account on Android, or Samsung Account on Galaxy S devices, Microsoft Account on Windows Phone, etc.) - this is especially true when you think of it from a CROSS PLATFORM perspective.

Companies tend to want a uniform user experience, not everyone with basically the same app except one odd/eccentric version for Android users.

And really, the crying about "SMS Integration" from Android users... Seriously, I'm so over it.

[jtfolden]

And Android users' obsession with "SMS Integration" is getting a tad bit annoying...

BBM can be successful without SMS integration, if people adopt it. It doesn't need this niche feature to be successful. Complain to Google that 1st party/stock Messaging Services on Android is still a steaming hot mess.

Do you know what they say about people who ASSume? lol

I'm not an Android user...

Also, for any OEM preloading to be truly successful outside of niche markets then BBM needs to replace the default messaging app in any case.

[iN8ter]

Do you know what they say about people who ASSume? lol

I'm not an Android user...

I understand that, because I looked at your profile and seen you were iMore/WebOS Nation but not Android Central.

However, most of the cries for SMS Integration tend to come from Android Users, because they're the only ones that can make great use of it due to the fact that Windows Phone, Blackberry 10, and iOS do not allow you to use a 3rd party application as the default SMS client (unless you JB the OS to force it, which is not a use case any sane company will plan for).

Given the design of iOS, designing a redundant SMS/MMS client inside of BBM is a complete and utter waste of development resources, and of very little value.

People who use BBM on iOS will not use it to basically shut off their iMessage client. They will use it to access BBM's IM network. Nor will they leave both enabled for SMS/MMS to get potentially notifications from two applications. iMessage pretty much obsoleted all 3rd party SMS/MMS clients on iOS, for the most part. iOS' marketshare is too high and their users are too active on their devices to not factor that in.

Saying that the app has no chance without SMS/MMS integration is incredibly shortsighted and na�ve.

EDIT: If you followed the tech blogs (esp. on Google+) around my announcement of Google Hangouts' apps, you'll understand better my comment about the Android users. It's probably only a matter of time before a few of them come in this thread to talk about it :-)

[AnimalPak200]

I don't get the appeal of a system such as imessages that basically makes you unaware of what you are actually doing. A few months ago someone was complaining about how the Q10 gives multiple notification when it receives a 'long SMS', and the person argued that their Androids just showed one long message. Essentially whatever the person had been using before had made them unaware that SMS was limited to 160 characters... and that a 'long' text message was actually broken up and sent as multiple messages (as correctly shown by the Q10). I still get ridiculously long 'single' 'SMS' messages from some people, and I guess it's because they have no idea what they are really doing... lol

Kind of like, driving a car with automatic transmission, traction and stability control, abs, etc. VS driving a manual/stick-shift.

Sure, you can point the car in the right direction and just press on the gas and call that driving, but... don't you want to be aware of what is really happening so as to have a bit more control?

Obviously the answer for the vast majority is a resounding NO... and that's too bad.


Posted via CB10

[jtfolden]

Saying that the app has no chance without SMS/MMS integration is incredibly shortsighted and na�ve.

It's not naive at all, it's simply my position that I will not use multiple apps for sending "texts" and I don't think I'm alone in that position. I, also, never said that BBM had no chance but rather that it needed something like that in order to surpass WhatsApp and I firmly believe that's true - particularly if BB is going to go for a lot of OEM bundling deals then they *should* want it to appear as integrated as possible.

[jtfolden]

Sure, you can point the car in the right direction and just press on the gas and call that driving, but... don't you want to be aware of what is really happening so as to have a bit more control?

Yeah, NO. Why should an end user worry that their modern SMS/MMS app is capable of sending "Long SMS" messages in order to work around a limitation of the technology? When the great majority of mobile devices handle this gracefully and it sounds like BB10 does not then that's kind of sad.

I want my car with all the luxury features, thanks.

[Brandon Orr]

This feature will probably end up being ChatBlend