[notfanboy]

This is what you don't get. If BBM is cross platform... then blackberry is overcoming a major problem with its ecosystem. Who needs skype when you can BBM everyone including iphone users? Why not go ahead and crush one of apple's most hyped features, "facetime"?

People say, "I want to be able to facetime so I have to get an iphone." and now we can say, "facetime sucks. Now that BBM is cross-platform everyone can use it." Boom. Done.

Except that cross platform BBM has a long way to go before being truly cross platform. What if the person you want to reach is on a Windows laptop, a Mac, or a Chromebook? What if they're using Windows phone or Ubuntu? What about the 50% of Android users who can't install bbm because they have older phones?

[Blacklatino]

BlackBerry is killing its self by let BBM and BBM channel going to other OSes
No one will buy BlackBerry devices

I have an iPhone 5
And I keep buying a BlackBerry because of BBM

So is this the time to say good buy to BlackBerry devices?

Q5

Whether it helps or not, remains to be seen. But, BlackBerry has a laundry list of other issues to be concerned with before BBM cross- platforms.

[xanadome]

No concern. With unlimited texting and its cross platform abilities, for most U.S. users, it will be a non-event.

Yes I will install it on the families Droid fleet but will likely fall into the "hardly ever used" realm joining GTalk, Yahoo whatever, Whatsapp, IThing, etc etc..

If made VERY secure it might have wider appeal and acceptance.

I came here, as I felt a strange sensation that someone was talking about my brain ("hardly ever used" reference), only to find out that the cross-platform BBM is bing discussed. Then, that's fine.

I agree that this is going to be a non-event.
This might be another one of those BBRY management story, hyping up the subject in their hope to prop up the sagging BB10 sales. They have been talking as if it has been a foregone conclusion. BBM used to be one of the strong reasons to buy the BB's. But the population that uses the BBM is rapidly shrinking, BBRY might have thought it might be a good idea to make the BBM cross-platform, thereby expanding the user base, i.e., BBRY's own selfish reason. It might sell, except that I cannot think of any good reason why Apple or Android camps should pick it up. Now Samsung are testing the water in South Africa where the BB is still popular, to see what happens there first. But Samsung would do anything to prop up their sales particularly when it does not cost them. I do not know much about the Android camp, as I encountered them only briefly last year (I did not like it). I do have an iPhone 5 and occasionally peek into related forums, and as far as I can tell, there virtually is no talk about the BBM. Besides, I just cannot think of any reason why Apple will allow uploading of the BBM into their AppStore, unless they have a charity mind to help the sad situation of the competitor.
And the word BlackBerry now carries a negative connotation, and people won't be too interested in picking up anything Blackberry in their AppStore, let alone considering the availability of excellent IM apps, including Apple's own. There must be compelling reasons for Apple/Android users to switch their IM client to the old BBM.

[Uzi]

Does the Android player on BB10 have a potential to draw people to Android?

this

[walt63]

The idea to bring BBM cross platform has everything to do with the business/enterprise consumers.

BBM is perfect for the BYOD environment. With many companies dropping the devices but still utilizing Fusion to manage iPhones and Android devices withing the company network, putting BBM on every device is a no-brainer.

I can definitely see work teams use it as a means of quick group communication.

Posted via CB10

[nycspaces.]

Sadly it's all too late it should have been done 4 years ago. If BBM had more than the 60 Million users it has now it might actually have strategic value, it might have prevented the defection to other platforms because it would have had a user base far larger than blackberry itself. It's current user base is a subset of the BBRY client base. If it had 300,000 million users like may of the chat apps today think of the branding and relevance BBRY would have to switch users to BBX.

[noez92]

just wait, simple...
if blackberry make a wrong decision, the company would be death soon or maybe just be an application developer. and of course i will back to galaxy/iphone with bbm inside

[Sporatic]

It been said a million times in a million other threads. BB lost a significant amount of income when they dumped BIS. Making BBM X platform will give the a way to get that income back via BBM channels.
If they don't go x-plat they will be en route to lose BBM completely as bb users switch to other modes of messaging to talk to their non bb owning friends. Like someone else said, damned if they do, more damned if they don't.

[jaunty_mellifluous]

BB is on the right track. They need to just keep on dishing out decent phones with no more bugs and people and apps will start catching up.

If BBM doesnt go cross platform now then it will also work as a negative since peeps wont get first hand interaction with BB users.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900

[wanted198]

Having BBM exclusively to blackberry doesn't really seem to be helping them. The company is doing badly so they are changing the BBM service up, it could draw people to blackberry and act as good advertisement for it. It's better than sitting doing nothing while the company dies.

[iN8ter]

Non event? Tell that to the millions that use ichat,faceflow, what's app, fb messenger etccc.... BBM is a highly polished messaging service, and it's widely known regardless of BlackBerry's reputation.
We can agree on this, just out of plain curiosity many people will download it no?Of those people I'm sure at least 50% would keep it. Samsung is already advertising it and they've been selling phones like hot cakes. Don't underestimate the power of BBM.


Z10? Why yes it is.

WhatsApp is not that popular here because it's capabilities barely surpass the SMS/MMS clients on mid range phones and almost everyone has just limited texting and MMS.

Facebook is popular because it's Facebook messenger. It's built into the Facebook app everyone installs anyways, and it's not limited to just smartphones. BBM isn't even usable from tablet PCs yet.

There is no iChat. iMessage replaced it for the most part. I have no clue what Faceflow is.

BBM when it releases on Android/iOS will be at an extreme feature deficit Compared to other messaging apps and it'd BB7/10 version.

ChatON already has these social features. If users were clamoring for that they would be running to Samsung's messenger right now. Don't need another super bloated messaging app TBH.

Sent from my Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 4

[iN8ter]

Might want to check your math because 95% of 80 million means 76 million have left leaving only 4 million current subscribers which is not true.

He said 95% of customers who have ALREADY MOVED TO OTHER PLATFORMS.

Might wanna check your reading comprehension :-)

Sent from my Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 4

[iN8ter]

This is what you don't get. If BBM is cross platform... then blackberry is overcoming a major problem with its ecosystem. Who needs skype when you can BBM everyone including iphone users? Why not go ahead and crush one of apple's most hyped features, "facetime"?

People say, "I want to be able to facetime so I have to get an iphone." and now we can say, "facetime sucks. Now that BBM is cross-platform everyone can use it." Boom. Done.

Skype is already there and who needs BBM when you have to use Skype to Video call them? That's the obvious retort. Can't really say much to that. Launching at feature parity this late in the game is important.

Skype will be baked into Windows 8.1. They win as far as I'm personally concerned.

Most of those people in emerging markets carrying two phones are using a curve plus a higher end ios or android device, not the other way around. They just use the BB to BBM.

Sent from my Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 4

[Pilchard]

So much ignorance on display on CrackBerry these days, it's shocking.

Look, we get it. People have moved away from Blackberry in droves in the US, UK and many other 'developed' countries where most of you live. That's easy to understand. People have found alternatives in Whatsapp, iMessage etc. That's good.

That's for DEVELOPED countries

It's different in emerging countries...which provide a VERY significant chunk of BlackBerry's income. BBM is THE killer app there (along, of course, with BIS for legacy devices). With BBM being so popular, sales of Curves, Bolds, Torches etc skyrocketed in the past few years. Now there's a significant chunk of people on BBM. Cheap Android phones with MUCH better apps and games, bigger screens etc are now flooding the market. People still cling to their BlackBerries for BBM, but that will change once BBM becomes multiplatform.

You guys need to stop making assumptions and listen when someone who actually LIVES in such markets tells you this. Unless BlackBerry have a dead certain plan to monetize BBM, feel free to call me out if Subscriber numbers and legacy device sales don't drop seriously.

BBM already faces a tough struggle against the likes of Whatsapp. Microsoft making Skype the standard messaging service in Windows 8.1+ won't exactly do wonders for BlackBerry's push for BBM Video.

So before you guys jump all over the OP, this has little to do with being an 'armchair CEO' and everything to do with understanding the market.

Because any view that does not accord with yours is ignorance, right?

[Mikhilesh sekhar]

If they are not the old blackberry protect then they gonna kill blackberry for sure all my friends returned z10 coz of that

Mike

[Sir Melon]

So is this the time to say good buy to BlackBerry devices?

Come on, tip of the iceberg really.

[FFR]

Because any view that does not accord with yours is ignorance, right?

Accord = experience in emerging markets.

Yes, Especially when those individuals lack knowledge or information about emerging markets, them they would be considered ignorant.


*Ignorance: lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc.

Cheers.

[texazzpete]

Because any view that does not accord with yours is ignorance, right?

No, because I live and work in an emerging country with 3 million Blackberry users, most of them teens and youths drawn in by BBM and BIS. In the past 7 months, sales of cheaper Android phones from Samsung and techno have skyrocketed, cutting deep into BlackBerry's once dominant share. People still buy Blackberry devices for BBM... Cheap data plans for Android phones and exploits allowing people to use their BIS plans for data on cheap Android phones is eroding the BIS value. As soon as BBM goes cross platform, that trickle exodus becomes a torrent.

I see comments from people living in North America going "do people buy BlackBerry just for BBM? That's impossible " and I laugh because that's just ignorance.
Only on Crackberry do you find people willing to believe people in emerging countries buy BB phones for 'security' yet struggle to understand the appeal BBM has for the masses.

I tell you truly, if BBM was cross platform last year when I was still stuck with that awful 9900, I'd have ditched BlackBerry long ago. Thankfully the Q10 is a whole different animal.

[Pilchard]

Accord = experience in emerging markets.

Yes, Especially when those individuals lack knowledge or information about emerging markets, them they would be considered ignorant.


*Ignorance: lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc.

Cheers.

Quod erat demonstrandum, Latin gerundive.

Cheers!

[FFR]

Quod erat demonstrandum, Latin gerundive.

Cheers!

Quod erat faciendum

[Pilchard]

Quod erat faciendum

LOL

[Cylon69]

It's going to draw people to BlackBerry, not kill it.
Just like I once asked alot of people I know to install WhatsApp ,
I'll get people to install BBM cos it's better etc and then when they buy their next phone BlackBerry will be considered an option.
At the moment alot of people I know don't even know what BBM is,
Soon they will have a taste.

[FFR]

It's going to draw people to BlackBerry, not kill it.
Just like I once asked alot of people I know to install WhatsApp ,
I'll get people to install BBM cos it's better etc and then when they buy their next phone BlackBerry will be considered an option.
At the moment alot of people I know don't even know what BBM is,
Soon they will have a taste.

Your speaking about developed markets.
Couldn't agree more.

In emerging markets, it will kill blackberry's hardware business.
Maybe that's what Thor wants.

[Cylon69]

Your speaking about developed markets.
Couldn't agree more.

In emerging markets, it will kill blackberry's hardware business.
Maybe that's what Thor wants.

This may sound stupid on my part but can or will BlackBerry control which countries get BBM on other os's?

[FFR]

This may sound stupid on my part but can or will BlackBerry control which countries get BBM on other os's?

I'm afraid not.
Samsung is already advertising bbm on its galaxy line of devices in Africa.