[dcbo89]

I feel it is time BBM moved onto other platforms. BBM is a solid messaging system but being limited to Blackberries really limits its use for me. This will undoubtedly change as BB10 picks up speed but I don't think its a feature that pulls in users anymore like it use to and having BBM on other platforms would help get Blackberry back into mind share of everyone. UI and everything should stay as close as possible to the BB10 version, though stuff like screen share shouldn't be included.

Now BBM is a premium product and should have a premium price on other platforms. I'd say 5 or even 10 dollars for it would be considered fair, if pricey, but the thing that has to be remembered here is that this would be primarily a marketing tool and not for pure profit. And I think people will pay it, especially with people (read: friends and family) moving to back to Blackberry with BB10.

Anyways its time BBM started to invade other platforms.

[Zakaria Ridouh]

I really like that idea!!

[Masahiro]

I really like that idea!!

It's hardly original. This has been a discussion topic for a while now.

[eddy_berry]

Yes I think its time to give up this great messaging application to the competition. It can have better selling power for BB phones when people realize how much better it would be on a BB10 device. No screenshare and video chat and maybe have wifi voice calling. But offering it for more than $5 will not be good unless it is a premium full featured option. (who wouldn't pay to have cross-platform wifi voice calling and video calling all in one application? Having it priced competitively with other messaging services (whatsapp) would be even better. BB branding would show everyone what BB is the best at.

[lnichols]

I disagree. Apple isn't going to give iMessage to everyone. Why should BlackBerry give BBM to everyone. It is a differentiator from the competition. Now maybe they could develop something similar with limited functionality and try to monetize it, but it should not be BBM, and should be a totally separate product/app even for BB devices. Other option would be to work with a third party like Whatsapp, which they are doing.

[Elahkneh]

They could make some progress by starting to scan the contact list so we can see who is using bbm... just like whatsapp



Posted via CB10

[dcbo89]

But its not a relevant differentiator anymore, not with whatsapp and skype being accross all platforms. A BBM app available for Android and iOS and even WP8 would not impact BB10 sales negatively at all. Mind share is everything and this would do more than a lot of advertizing. In its own way BBM is a brand, a brand people know and respect, and a brand people will pay to use.

And I agree it would need the full video and voice as well as the text chat. I think $5 would be fair, 10 would be pushing it a bit too far.

Before BB10 I would have argued heavily against it but now that we have a compelling device to draw people towards, using this as an example of what they are missing. Its the perfect app to showcase BB10 on other platforms. It doesnt matter that Apple isnt going to give iMessage away or facetime, Apple has the market share to justify that, Blackberry no longer does. And really, do we really want to use Apple as our prime example of what an OS should be, I dont

[Mr_F]

I feel it is time BBM moved onto other platforms. BBM is a solid messaging system but being limited to Blackberries really limits its use for me. This will undoubtedly change as BB10 picks up speed but I don't think its a feature that pulls in users anymore like it use to and having BBM on other platforms would help get Blackberry back into mind share of everyone. UI and everything should stay as close as possible to the BB10 version, though stuff like screen share shouldn't be included.

Now BBM is a premium product and should have a premium price on other platforms. I'd say 5 or even 10 dollars for it would be considered fair, if pricey, but the thing that has to be remembered here is that this would be primarily a marketing tool and not for pure profit. And I think people will pay it, especially with people (read: friends and family) moving to back to Blackberry with BB10.

Anyways its time BBM started to invade other platforms.

To paraphrase my response from a similar thread:

'I think it's a bit too late for the whole cross-platform thing to work now. As much as I think BBM is widely acknowledged as the better service, I think a fair few would still shy away from downloading BBM if it went cross-platform (in its current state or if it asked for a 5-10 dollar subscription fee). Reason being people are already happy and super connected using the almost free service from WhatsApp. When you add that to the fact that WhatsApp and BBM fundamentally work in different ways (at least from an infrastructure point of view), I doubt that BBM would be the cross-platfom hit you're expecting. WhatsApp (as I'm sure you know) works off your phone number and as such automatically adds those who also use the app with little / no effort from the user. If BBM were to go cross platform you'd have to imagine it would work in a similar way to how it does currently - with a device / user PIN. Therefore, users would have to actively distribute that PIN to all of their contacts as opposed to WhatsApp magically doing it for them. It's a much more labor intensive process and I think that will be enough to dissuade many from using it (especially in the age of convenience that we live in today).

The cross-platform horse has already bolted from the stable - BlackBerry (imo) cannot compete in that arena now, so they have to change the rules of the game. WhatsApp has the cross-messaging bit cornered so BlackBerry need to innovate around BBM to own everything else.'

Now back to your point...

I think your logic is a bit flawed. You don't throw your prized asset to the competition for the sake of mindshare - that's just basic business acumen as far as I'm concerned. The only way it would make sense to me is if BlackBerry had something more attractive than BBM to offer - of which you could argue they do not (currently). With that in mind what incentive would there then be for an iOS / Android user to buy a BlackBerry device if they'd be able to get the best it has to offer on their current platform of choice? The answer is - there isn't one - at least not to the masses. In fact I think it would do more harm than good, as we would likely see an accelerated exodus of subscribers. Many are still using BlackBerry devices solely for BBM and if it were to go cross-platform they would (arguably) have no further reason to stay.

Going cross-platform is a one-way move and as such would be an incredibly reckless one (imo). Keeping BBM as a proprietary service is BlackBerry betting big on the long term success of BB10. If BB10 catches public interest (as you've alluded to believing) then BBM will once again be a key influencing factor in the average buying decision. Allowing it to go cross-platform (as things currently stand) will just dissuade many from joining in the first place and worse still, may even persuade some current users to leave. So it's a lose, lose situation for Blackberry as far as I see it (at least with how things currently stand).

[dcbo89]

Except BBM is such a minor feature now, at least from my perspective. BB10 has so much more to offer. BBM is far from the best thing BB10 has to offer which is the entire basis for my point, if you truely think BBM is the only/main reason people are going to come the platform Blackberry is screwed and might as well shut its doors now because there are other services out there, as you said, that compete with BBM and are cross platform, whatsapp and skype for example. BBM was amazing back in the day now but its not even on the list of reasons why I'm getting this phone. Making BBM available cross platform would simply showcase the rest of the OS and its potential.

Your argument is based on BBM being the stunning, amazing, innovative thing that it was 5 years ago, it isnt that anymore and the simple fact is people arent going to use a proprietary option when they have cross platform options available to them. If it was people wouldnt be begging for skype and downloading whatsapp in the amounts that they are currently doing. My logic is not flawed I believe yours is, your still living in a pre BB10 world and before Blackberry10 I would have shared your opinion but things have changed.

[texazzpete]

If BB ports BBM to Android and iOS, they'll lose MILLIONS of subscribers in developing countries.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

[Mr_F]

Except BBM is such a minor feature now, at least from my perspective. BB10 has so much more to offer. BBM is far from the best thing BB10 has to offer which is the entire basis for my point, if you truely think BBM is the only/main reason people are going to come the platform Blackberry is screwed and might as well shut its doors now because there are other services out there, as you said, that compete with BBM and are cross platform, whatsapp and skype for example. BBM was amazing back in the day now but its not even on the list of reasons why I'm getting this phone. Making BBM available cross platform would simply showcase the rest of the OS and its potential.

Your argument is based on BBM being the stunning, amazing, innovative thing that it was 5 years ago, it isnt that anymore and the simple fact is people arent going to use a proprietary option when they have cross platform options available to them. If it was people wouldnt be begging for skype and downloading whatsapp in the amounts that they are currently doing. My logic is not flawed I believe yours is, your still living in a pre BB10 world and before Blackberry10 I would have shared your opinion but things have changed.

• Do I think that BBM is the only thing good about BB10? No
• Do I think the new features in BB10 (as in OS10.0) are enough to appeal to the majority of casual users? No, not yet
• Do I think the new features in BB10 (as in OS10.0) are enough to appeal to 'BlackBerry People'? Most definitely
• Am I happy with my Z10? Got it the first day it came out and have loved it ever since
• Do I think BB10 is aimed at everyone? No
• Do I think it needs to be? No
• Would I like to see it appeal to more people (specifically the casual user)? Yes, in time
• Do I think it's possible? Categorically yes
• Will it happen overnight? No
• Do I think BBM is the 'stunning, amazing, innovative thing that it was 5 years ago'? No
• Do I think BBM can once again be the 'stunning, amazing, innovative thing that it was 5 years ago'? Most definitely
• Do I think BBM needs to go cross-platform to once again be the 'stunning, amazing, innovative thing that it was 5 years ago'? Absolutely not
• Do I think BBM going cross-platform would hurt BlackBerry (as a platform) in the long run? As things currently stand, yes
• What do I think BlackBerry need to do to make BBM the 'stunning, amazing, innovative thing that it was 5 years ago'? Innovate, innovate innovate!

That pretty much sums up my thoughts on it all - I hope it answers all of your questions. Apologies for the somewhat succinct nature of my response but I'm in a bit of a rush. If you care to read my thoughts on this topic in any more detail you can read them HERE.

[eddy_berry]

If BB ports BBM to Android and iOS, they'll lose MILLIONS of subscribers in developing countries.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

I guess I hadn't thought of that.

[lnichols]

If BB ports BBM to Android and iOS, they'll lose MILLIONS of subscribers in developing countries.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

Exactly. Low end Androids have much more functionality than low end BBOS devices. BBM is a huge draw for BlackBerry in developing markets, where txt'ing is expensive and BBM is widely used. Make it so these device can get BBM and BlackBerry sales would would plummet fast. And if BBM is no longer a differentiator, then why should it be cross platform? Because it is a differentiator, and the best mobile IM system available!

[goldie335]

Yes I think its time to give up this great messaging application to the competition. It can have better selling power for BB phones when people realize how much better it would be on a BB10 device. No screenshare and video chat and maybe have wifi voice calling. But offering it for more than $5 will not be good unless it is a premium full featured option. (who wouldn't pay to have cross-platform wifi voice calling and video calling all in one application? Having it priced competitively with other messaging services (whatsapp) would be even better. BB branding would show everyone what BB is the best at.

So something like Tango? Works on everything but BlackBerry. And it's free


Posted via CB10

[viswanathansri]

As someone mentioned earlier , making BBM a cross-platform app , it would kill one of the biggest exclusivity that blackberry enjoys till date . Giving blackberry's best to other platform will drive more potential BBRY customers to android . One possible solution could be giving out a limited edition of BBM that it not truly cross-platform Whatsapp but rather just a client that would allow communication only with a BBRY phone .
I mean BBM ( LITE ) for iOS and Android should allow communication only between Android<-->BBRY or iOS<-->BBRY
AND NOT Android<-->Android or iOS<-->iOS . This should be able to give the iOS and Android users a better way to communicate with their BBRY owning friends and also give them a peek of what BBM is actually capable of .

Or rather another good way would be putting up a full version of BBM for 10$ on Android and iOS that would give a true cross-platform compatibility along with those screen sharing and video conferencing features .
But I feel that even though the first idea ( BBM LITE ) seems a bit awkward , it does seem to give other os users a chance of BBM without giving them the full piece of cake

[PD in T-DOT]

They could make some progress by starting to scan the contact list so we can see who is using bbm... just like whatsapp



Posted via CB10

This already exists. Go to BBM > invite > suggested. Everyone of those listed have a blackberry and potentially available to add to BBM. That's what I have been doing this past month.

Posted from my Z10

[goldie335]

This already exists. Go to BBM > invite > suggested. Everyone of those listed have a blackberry and potentially available to add to BBM. That's what I have been doing this past month.

Posted from my Z10

I don't have this on my z10. Where in BBM am I looking for this? Whe o invite I vet no option for "Suggested"

Posted via CB10

[anon(5769508)]

Gxj

Posted via CB10

[bigbadben10]

BBM stays exclusively with BlackBerry. You want it... get a BlackBerry mobile phone!

Posted via CB10

[currentodysseys]

I don't have this on my z10. Where in BBM am I looking for this? Whe o invite I vet no option for "Suggested"

Posted via CB10

You have to click on the top right as noted in the image below

[sparkaction]

If BB ports BBM to Android and iOS, they'll lose MILLIONS of subscribers in developing countries.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

+1. The only way a cross platform could be successful is for the service to have a fee attached. If bbm were ever offered, it should be only available corps running BES10 and maybe only on the work side of the balance profile.

Posted via CB10

[southlander]

I find it unlikely unless BlackBerry got into some serious trouble financially. And even then they'd likely sell it off along with their NOC.

What we are seeing now is consolidation into various walled gardens. Even with Android you are starting to see companies like Samsung want to fork it and lock users into their services -- their messaging. Then look at Google's moves -- cutting off EAS, etc.

I see BBM opening up as less likely than ever, especially with the strength of BlackBerry 10.

That said BlackBerry is working on things like BBM Money. So I suppose you could see that specific function become cross platform. Who knows.

[goldie335]

You have to click on the top right as noted in the image below

Wow
Sweet. And all these people showing up have bbm?

Posted via CB10

[CrownIsle]

Wow
Sweet. And all these people showing up have bbm?

Posted via CB10

Most of the people showing on mine, are my friends who switched to iphones but forgot to update their info on facebook and I guess it has their old numbers/phones info. SHRUG

I have one best friend still on BlackBerry- everyone else has shifted off, unfortunately. Even my brother :-(

[currentodysseys]

Most of the people showing on mine, are my friends who switched to iphones but forgot to update their info on facebook and I guess it has their old numbers/phones info. SHRUG

I have one best friend still on BlackBerry- everyone else has shifted off, unfortunately. Even my brother :-(

Yeah, it pulls from people in your contact list that have their BlackBerry id public on Facebook LinkedIn etc.





Posted via CB10