1. Gnomesane's Avatar
    Isn't the point to appeal a broader audience of iPhone users? You know, the ones who actually know how to spell Apple?
    Not agreeing with the Crapple comment, but there is a point to making a shift from the traditional platform UX in order to 'stand out'. On iPhone, I used to love using Sparrow Mail, which had a very different feel from iOS at the time.
    10-28-13 06:57 PM
  2. app_Developer's Avatar
    Not agreeing with the Crapple comment, but there is a point to making a shift from the traditional platform UX in order to 'stand out'. On iPhone, I used to love using Sparrow Mail, which had a very different feel from iOS at the time.
    But Sparrow still fit the platform very nicely. They made some extensions and pushed some boundaries, but it still had the fit, finish and polish that iPhone users expect. It wasn't jarring or sloppy at all.

    And it didn't look like it was "designed" by the IT department or the guys working at the cell phone kiosk in the mall.
    10-28-13 07:07 PM
  3. Gnomesane's Avatar
    But Sparrow still fit the platform very nicely. They made some extensions and pushed some boundaries, but it still had the fit, finish and polish that iPhone users expect. It wasn't jarring or sloppy at all.

    And it didn't look like it was "designed" by the IT department or the guys working at the cell phone kiosk in the mall.
    I take it you're not a fan of the whole BB10 ux then. Well, I have to say Sparrow felt different at the time compared to the native iOS experience. And I actually like the side menu paradigm of BBM (and BB10). I agree it won't necessarily feel intuitive to the average Android / iOS user at first blush, but once you get accustomed to it, it's very efficient imo.

    With iOS7 and Android (JB, and apps like Google Now), you're seeing a lot more side swiping / bezel action on the OS front. And I think that's just going to increase as we move forward on all platforms. Just my personal opinion of course.
    10-28-13 07:17 PM
  4. app_Developer's Avatar
    And I actually like the side menu paradigm of BBM (and BB10)
    Actually, I do like the side menus. I think it may be a bit much to do it on both sides, but even that I can live with.

    But the fit and finish of the execution are what I would like to see them improve. The typography, the mis-alignment of elements, the wasted space in the list view (e.g. why spend so much space on a disabled send button when viewing the whole conversation?), the out of place blue gradient at the top which doesn't even match the other blue elements, the imbalance of the headers, etc. That sort of thing.
    solitude1984 likes this.
    10-28-13 07:24 PM
  5. Gnomesane's Avatar
    Actually, I do like the side menus. I think it may be a bit much to do it on both sides, but even that I can live with.

    But the fit and finish of the execution are what I would like to see them improve. The typography, the mis-alignment of elements, the wasted space in the list view (e.g. why spend so much space on a disabled send button when viewing the whole conversation?), the out of place blue gradient at the top which doesn't even match the other blue elements, the imbalance of the headers, etc. That sort of thing.
    Good points on design actually, cheers. I was just talking about the side menus... And I think the left and right side menus work well, especially looking ahead to further functionality like Video/Voice/Channels/Screen Share, etc... On Android apps like Astro File Manager, Dolphin Browser and others make good use of the two sides of the screen.

    You seem to have some concrete thoughts on how to improve the interface, I'd like to hear more actually. In fact, I'd love to see a thread with developers talking about how they would improve BBM and out-BlackBerry BlackBerry!

    Of course, you'd have to give it a massively negative or ridiculously fawning fanboy title in order to get anyone to click on it! This is Crackberry after all, lol.
    10-28-13 07:34 PM
  6. pipesthyr's Avatar
    I vote that the mods change the title on this thread to "The Verge's Review on BBM is Trash"

    Posted via CB10
    R Field and Bor Navas like this.
    10-28-13 07:43 PM
  7. app_Developer's Avatar
    Of course, you'd have to give it a massively negative or ridiculously fawning fanboy title in order to get anyone to click on it! This is Crackberry after all, lol.
    "BBM will soon be the most valuable software system in the history of the mankind"? Is that good?

    My guess is that the iPhone and Android app don't actually use the same encryption keys as the BB devices (too risky.) So they must be decrypting and re-encrypting messages that cross from BB to non-BB and back, each with their own keys. So here's my dream: BlackBerry should organize a 30 day contest where teams get their own unique keys and time/load limited access to the BBM APIs. Let people design their ultimate BBM experience and let everyone else vote on them.

    Essentially do what Twitter did in the early days before they turned evil (and what they still support in some limited way at least). But BlackBerry can limit the time of the contest if they like and shut down the keys at the end. I'd just like to see what the community (including all the new Android and iOS folks) can imagine for BBM.
    10-28-13 07:43 PM
  8. Gnomesane's Avatar
    "BBM will soon be the most valuable software system in the history of the mankind"? Is that good?

    My guess is that the iPhone and Android app don't actually use the same encryption keys as the BB devices (too risky.) So they must be decrypting and re-encrypting messages that cross from BB to non-BB and back, each with their own keys. So here's my dream: BlackBerry should organize a 30 day contest where teams get their own unique keys and time/load limited access to the BBM APIs. Let people design their ultimate BBM experience and let everyone else vote on them.

    Essentially do what Twitter did in the early days before they turned evil (and what they still support in some limited way at least). But BlackBerry can limit the time of the contest if they like and shut down the keys at the end. I'd just like to see what the community (including all the new Android and iOS folks) can imagine for BBM.
    Too many words in your title... Keep it simple.

    Would love to see a contest where Android and iOS users (and others like WP8) would imagine the perfect BBM experience in addition to BlackBerry users... Now THAT would truly be #BBM4ALL... Considering BBM is moving to a cross platform app, it would be a first for someone to solicit the ideas of all the various 'communities'...

    Great idea!
    10-28-13 07:58 PM
  9. solitude1984's Avatar
    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 like BBM but the only thing that makes it better than iMessage (in my opinion, of course) is that it's cross-platform. I love how iMessage looks on iOS7. I'm not a fan of how BBM looks - it's not bad, but it's not great.

    One huge drawback is that BBM does not work on iPods. My mom doesn't have a phone, but she has an iPod touch that she loves. I never thought that I'd get her to text message until iMessage came along. Now that she has wifi both at home and at work we message all the time. I still have to use iMessage to communicate with her thanks to BBs decision.

    By the way, I know of two apps that show you when someone is typing a message - iMessage (obviously not when you're using SMS to send the message, but when you're using data it shows it) and Facebook Messenger. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more, but I haven't used any of the others enough to comment.

    Anyway BBM needs to make video and voice available ASAP because some people I know are getting bored.


    Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk
    10-29-13 08:14 AM
  10. paper_monkey's Avatar
    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
    And here I am trying to get it on my mom's phone so that I know if she's getting the messages I'm sending and just can't figure out how to reply or if she's lost her phone again XD
    10-29-13 09:58 AM
  11. solitude1984's Avatar
    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.
    What OS do you have installed? I'm on iOS7 and have not had to log in even once since the first time. I do use it every day though, so I don't know if it logs you out if you don't use it for a couple of days? Would be interested in finding out.


    Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk
    10-29-13 10:47 AM
  12. bobster922's Avatar
    I am quite torn with BBM on Android and iOS. While I'm excited for BB's new venture, I do see where The Verge is coming from. People who own iPhones and Android phones may never have owned a BB. They are definitely not used to the communication ways of BBs. This is why people will find the pin system and the UI obscure and dated. We who've been with devices with BBM for ages now, know that it is effective and efficient.
    devin266 and AlexXF like this.
    10-29-13 11:07 AM
  13. AlexXF's Avatar
    You have to review something

    We who've been with devices with BBM for ages now, know that it is effective and efficient.
    No. You just think 'that it is effective and efficient', because you do not have alternative before, but this is outdated. You forgot something - iOS and Android had IM's based on UIDs (Skype, ICQ, IM+ ... ), this is not Blackberry invention, this is stone age of IM's.

    The same thing about device 'transition', when you begin chat on smartphone, continue on tablet and finish it on your desktop.

    BBM offer nothings new, and this is disaster. BBM Voice/Video is not the graal in IM's word anymore. Take a look to Viber - they offer ViberOut (like a SkypeOut) now, VOIP calls to any phone, not Viber-to-Viber.

    This is why BBM will fail. No real benefits, why Viber/WA/iMessage must to change their IMs to BBM. Security? Who care about it?

    Take a look to iOS App Store charts - BBM losses their position. It fails like BB10 fails on market. Great start... and fall.

    I've lost any hope in that company. They can't move forward and bring something new to the market.
    11-14-13 03:50 PM
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