[gfondeur]

Eh, the review is pretty impartial, IMO. The biggest thing going on for BBM is the name; which, will probably be enough to propel it in developing markets.
There really isn't anything excitable about IM and BBM doesn't change that (as hard as users on this website try to hype others up about this basic communication app). Text messaging, BBM, and iMessage have been around for forever.
It seems the 'messaging' trend has really moved on to pictures/videos like Snapchat, Instagram, or Vine, which are preferred by youngsters and other socialites.

yeah the "youngsters" ones, and the hipsters ones, and the narcissistic ones, yeah, you right,

[Oscar_E]

Read this Forbes article, they explain the value BBM can get and how they can profit from it, they talk about billions of dollars.

BBM Could Be Worth Billions If BlackBerry Can Copy The LINE Playbook - Forbes

[southlander]

Guys, I have a question about the bbm and other apps like whatsapp. It seems to me that one advantage of an SMS application over another would be whether that application works over your data plan on your mobile device and/or wifi. If I understand it, bbm works over both data and wifi. Does whatsapp work over both or just your data plan. Sometimes you have a data connection and sometimes you have a wifi connection. It would be nice to have an SMS application that can switch from one to the other if you're not in range of one of those types of connection. So if bbm works over both would that not be in advantage?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

SMS is part of your cellular voice plan. It is not "data". So you can't SMS over WiFi using your phone number. I say using your phone number bexause there are some things like Google voice etc. That do work using data.

Any of these apps like BBM, Whatsapp, Kik, FB Messenger -- they all work via your data whether over cellular data or WiFi.

Z10STL100-4/10.2.0.1767

[grifter190]

Viber uses Data usage to send texts......from what I understand it doesnt affect your text package.....in a sense it is free, but you still have to watch out how much internet usage it takes up. I have 10GiG of of internet included in my package.....but I tend to use my wifi whilst at home so it doesnt affect any of my phones Internet usage. I dont use whatsapp dont like it. Cant turn it off.

[solitude1984]

SMS is part of your cellular voice plan. It is not "data". So you can't SMS over WiFi using your phone number. I say using your phone number bexause there are some things like Google voice etc. That do work using data.

Any of these apps like BBM, Whatsapp, Kik, FB Messenger -- they all work via your data whether over cellular data or WiFi.

Z10STL100-4/10.2.0.1767

You are right, none of these apps are actual SMS apps. The only app I know of first hand that switches from actual SMS to data is iMessage ... but that obviously only works if you're messaging another iPhone user.


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

[solitude1984]

Viber uses Data usage to send texts......from what I understand it doesnt affect your text package.....in a sense it is free, but you still have to watch out how much internet usage it takes up. I have 10GiG of of internet included in my package.....but I tend to use my wifi whilst at home so it doesnt affect any of my phones Internet usage. I dont use whatsapp dont like it. Cant turn it off.

Wow 10GB is a LOT!! I have 1GB that I share with my husband (we have a couples plan). So far BBM hasn't used too much data ... but if we ever got to the point where we were hitting our data limit, we'd have to stop using BBM. Hopefully that won't happen.


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

[paper_monkey]

LOL.... Oh no....you are SO wrong. The review should have consisted of Pmccartney's first 3 points.\;-)

The worst things about BBM of all: it's brought out of some of the most extreme attitudes I've seen at CB....it's like giving the small man just a tiny bit of power....or in this case, a piece of news which while not bad, is not particularly meaningful! ie. You're about to get thrown out of your house, you have no job, no income, no realistic prospects, BUT you got a pretty good response to a free video you put on the internet! If you had the chance to pursue this, it could indeed have the potential to become a successful thing which could generate enough income to feed you - though not your family - nor will you be able to save your house....

Well enough reality - let's just say, the hubris, and acting-out lately is a real downer on something finally going not wrong for BB. You just wish some people could have enough wits about them to keep on a half-even keel. These posters are like wild ADHD kids are a Maury Povich show......somebody says anything and screaming, cheering, booing, and other histrionics ensue immediately without the slightest thought! :-)

Too bad we can't just take it for what it is. A successful relaunch of BBM. The waiting list was not good, but as I said at the time, probably not terribly significant in the long run. If you like BBM, this is a good thing, and makes it possible (though far from guaranteed, that BBM may exist on in some form). For BB the company, nothing has changed at all. BBM could not even begin, even if wildly successful (which we will need months to see....and frankly, I think is an extreme long-shot) it could no sustain the company - not even close. On top of all that, the future of any BBM development itself rests on what happens to the sale...so we are still waiting on that. It would be good, if wherever BBM ends up, it ends up with an entity who wishes to keep developing it, and become a competitor to whatsapp and others.

PS. If all your contacts are now on BBM like some are claiming - you really need to get out more - you run in VERY small circles, which would help explain some of the warped perspective....

I was having dinner with family last night and my brother-in-law (an iPhone guy with a certified BB addict for a wife) couldn't stop talking about how awesome BBM was and how he was convincing all the guys at work (mostly iPhones) to try it. They were saying that it could never be as good as iMessage so he showed it to them for about 5 minutes and they were all hooked. It's the interactions like this that are going to help spread the word and there's also a little gem I was reminded of that I haven't seen people bringing up as a selling point.. with BBM, not only do you know that the message has been delivered and read but you also know when they are writing you a message back. It's not always perfect but it's a great feature and, granted, i'm not a messaging app expert by any stretch but I can't think of any other app I've used that has this.

All in all, I have to agree richardat, it was a successfull relaunch now we just need to wait for it to reach critical mass..

[paper_monkey]

It will always be interesting to me that you referred to BlackBerry as BBRY from now on.

The average person doesn't do that, and there was always something off about your posts!

Cheers.

I consider myself reasonably average and I alternate back and forth between BlackBerry and BBRY.. sometimes I'm feeling lazy, sometimes I'm not.. I guess I'm not understanding what you are suggesting about users who use BBRY instead of spelling it out every time?

[Alex98]

You are right, none of these apps are actual SMS apps. The only app I know of first hand that switches from actual SMS to data is iMessage ... but that obviously only works if you're messaging another iPhone user.

Facebook Messenger or Go SMS Pro (Android version only I think) can do that too.

[Alex98]

I haven't seen people bringing up as a selling point.. with BBM, not only do you know that the message has been delivered and read but you also know when they are writing you a message back. It's not always perfect but it's a great feature and, granted, i'm not a messaging app expert by any stretch but I can't think of any other app I've used that has this.

iMessage does it... hangout too. ChatON had this function in some old version.
I think Facebook Messenger does it too but not sure about this one.

[DenverRalphy]

It will always be interesting to me that you referred to BlackBerry as BBRY from now on.

The average person doesn't do that, and there was always something off about your posts!

Cheers.

It's easier to distinguish between the company itself and their product. BBRY refers to the company, and BlackBerry refers to the product. Since the name change from RIM to BlackBerry, it's just simpler to replace RIM with BBRY instead of using BlackBerry interchangeably.

SwiftKeyed/Flowed via Tapatalk 4 Beta

[heymaggie]

Doesn't "BBRY" just refer to the stock?

Regarding the BBM app, I love how the iOS app makes you login every couple of days for no reason (both username and password). That's going to get old fast. I'm already wondering why I should even bother so I'm guessing there are a lot of people out there trying to decide whether communicating with their Blackberry friends is worth it or not.

[FFR]

Doesn't "BBRY" just refer to the stock?

Regarding the BBM app, I love how the iOS app makes you login every couple of days for no reason (both username and password). That's going to get old fast. I'm already wondering why I should even bother so I'm guessing there are a lot of people out there trying to decide whether communicating with their Blackberry friends is worth it or not.

BBRY=BB=Blackberry
it can be used interchangeably.

[anon(5828343)]

I was having dinner with family last night and my brother-in-law (an iPhone guy with a certified BB addict for a wife) couldn't stop talking about how awesome BBM was and how he was convincing all the guys at work (mostly iPhones) to try it. They were saying that it could never be as good as iMessage so he showed it to them for about 5 minutes and they were all hooked. It's the interactions like this that are going to help spread the word and there's also a little gem I was reminded of that I haven't seen people bringing up as a selling point.. with BBM, not only do you know that the message has been delivered and read but you also know when they are writing you a message back. It's not always perfect but it's a great feature and, granted, i'm not a messaging app expert by any stretch but I can't think of any other app I've used that has this.

All in all, I have to agree richardat, it was a successfull relaunch now we just need to wait for it to reach critical mass..

I agree that BBM is great but iMessage also allows for read receipt. In addition, with iMessage, I can use the same iMessage account on my iPhone and on my Mac so I'm literally always reachable. The biggest drawback is iMessage isn't cross platform (which until last week was also the problem with BBM).

[paper_monkey]

I wish we could opt out of read notification. If I don't want to answer you, I don't and you annoying me by demanding answers will only make me more inclined to NEVER answer you. It's why I barely used BBM on any of my BBs

Sent from my LG-E973 using Tapatalk

I've never really had a large enough BBM list for this to be an issue as the people I did have on my list were family or close friends who, rightly, assumed that if I wasn't responding to them, that there was a good reason for it so they never really bothered me about it. I like knowing that people have read my messages but for comparison sake, I don't use read receipts on my e-mail and often get annoyed when I have to respond to another's request to send a read receipt. I can see, from an enterprise standpoint, why the delivered/read indicator is a very powerful tool and while I would personally find it frustrating if people started opting out of it, I can certainly see the arguments in favour of making it optional.

[Qrackin]

In the end what matters is the amount of users and what will not matter are the reviews from biased "professional reviewers".
They will all eat their words in a few months!

[paper_monkey]

Curious where you live that you can get unlimited sms. I'm guessing you just think you can get it. Most people I know that use whatsapp get it because there is an extra charge to communicate with people in other countries that can be quite substantial if you do it a lot. I'm from Canada and to travel to the US for just a week I always have to get an unlimited texting plan and pay 40 bucks for it. My wife has to do the same thing so each trip we take out of country costs us at least 80 bucks just to send text messages to each other. Which is kind of ridiculous when you think about it.

I would venture to say that most people that use any of these services do it to escape texting plans (especially when traveling) so to compare any of them to sms is crazy.

I get unlimited messaging on Rogers in Canada but I also pay for the privledge of doing so... It's a small (well small if you go through retention) add on that I use to contact the people I don't either e-mail, BBM or call. I used What'sApp for a while and, if I'm honest, it doesn't really have any fatal flaws for me. I was not thrilled about my phone number residing on a server somewhere but I didn't notice an increase in telemarketing or in random wrong numbers so not a huge issue for me. Bottom line, I just didn't really like the interface or the experience (subjective, and wishy-washy..? why yes but my opinion none the less).

[Qrackin]

Many cross platform messaging apps have Delivery and Read notifications. Please try and post knowledgeably.

Please provide a list of these apps for all of us to behold.

[DenverRalphy]

Please provide a list of these apps for all of us to behold.

Again? They've been listed a few times in this thread already.

SwiftKeyed/Flowed via Tapatalk 4 Beta

[luisoman2000]

Please provide a list of these apps for all of us to behold.

Kik,line, facebook messenger, liveprofile had it too. Sure, many cross platform apps lack the read notification, but they bring more features than the current bbm app. The review was spot on, bbm should have been released with at least the same features as it's competitors(video sending, location sending). The way it is now, it brings nothing new to the im app world...except for pins. That i believe is what sets bbm apart.

Sent from my LT28i using Tapatalk 2

[scienceboy]

I haven't had issues with delivery as some have reported. But I'd rate that as a service point, not so much as an app rating. I don't think that I could criticize the service with the experience I've had thus far. The app itself though could use some serious tweaking.

There are some bugs, and some obviously missing features (like notification settings), etc.. But what's really lacking, is adoption of the platform's design guidelines. I understand that BBRY wants to put their own flavor on the app, but some effort should be made to follow each platform's UI guidelines. iOS and Android users typically become comfortable with a UI that they know or prefer. Deviate from it too much, and users tend to move to an app that they're more comfortable with.

SwiftKeyed/Flowed via Tapatalk 4 Beta

Disagree. Keep BBM looking like BBM,Not some crapple app. It's a great uswr interface... much cleaner than the alternatives and with more features. All of my friends now use BBM exclusively.


Posted via CB10

[RubberChicken76]

i think it points out some things that can be improved on but in general its overly harsh as i wouldnt give it 5/10 at all....maybe 7.5/10

I'm the same. I can't argue with the invite system though. It's too hard. A lot of people who aren't used to BBM don't get the pin idea and are clicking the wrong links. I invite someone and instead of accepting, they click the wrong link and invite me back.

Does anyone know if the Contacts app is able to reconcile emails with pins for non-BlackBerry BBMers the way it does for BlackBerry BBMers? That seems so much easier to me ... here's a recommended list of contacts, invite 'em.

[reeneebob]

I've never really had a large enough BBM list for this to be an issue as the people I did have on my list were family or close friends who, rightly, assumed that if I wasn't responding to them, that there was a good reason for it so they never really bothered me about it. I like knowing that people have read my messages but for comparison sake, I don't use read receipts on my e-mail and often get annoyed when I have to respond to another's request to send a read receipt. I can see, from an enterprise standpoint, why the delivered/read indicator is a very powerful tool and while I would personally find it frustrating if people started opting out of it, I can certainly see the arguments in favour of making it optional.

Oh hell, dude, I'm talking about my mother lol. It's why my sis and I left BB. She drove us nuts.

Sent from my LG-E973 using Tapatalk

[Gnomesane]

It's easier to distinguish between the company itself and their product. BBRY refers to the company, and BlackBerry refers to the product. Since the name change from RIM to BlackBerry, it's just simpler to replace RIM with BBRY instead of using BlackBerry interchangeably.

SwiftKeyed/Flowed via Tapatalk 4 Beta

Fair enough. Although on the TSE et al weren't they RIMM? Did people on CrackBerry refer to RIMM (and not RIM) often?

I see BBRY and I think stock market. Anyway, I get your point, thanks!

[app_Developer]

Disagree. Keep BBM looking like BBM,Not some crapple app.

Isn't the point to appeal to a broader audience of iPhone users? You know, the ones who actually know how to spell Apple?