[Kobe Barksdale]

I Somewhat agree as the BBM on iphone and Android is very much limited but BBM on BlackBerry 10 is full fledged.
What BBRY need to do it get Channels out of beta and into the hands of every user. I believe BBM Channels is the Game changer and
who ever reviewed this App hasn't seen Channels yet or BBM on a BlackBerry 10 device period

[Tre Lawrence]

I Somewhat agree as the BBM on iphone and Android is very much limited but BBM on BlackBerry 10 is full fledged.
What BBRY need to do it get Channels out of beta and into the hands of every user. I believe BBM Channels is the Game changer and
who ever reviewed this App hasn't seen Channels yet or BBM on a BlackBerry 10 device period

I think Channels release would be a good move, but is it ready? It really needs to be bulletproof, as it is clear that cross-platform folks can be tougher to please.

If it is ready, I would think a a follow-up release is better sooner than later. It may not be as successful out the gate as BBM, but it should have some stick.

[southlander]

Again, this is not an excuse companies can use in 2013. I call them the "but the original iPhone didn't have cut and paste" rationalizations.

And isn't BBRY one of the innovators of instant messaging? Shouldn't it's products be ahead of the curve?

Now, I'm willing to say that the first iteration of BBM is nice. I'm willing to wait on features. I'm just not willing to say that because one company didn't have something a while back, then a current company shouldn't.

You're missing the point. BlackBerry chooses to keep the core messaging in BBM secure, fast, reliable, and simple. It is not behind anyone in that respect.

[Tre Lawrence]

You're missing the point. BlackBerry chooses to keep the core messaging in BBM secure, fast, reliable, and simple. It is not behind anyone in that respect.

I didn't say it is.

I think for what it needs to do for BBRY, at this time, it is sufficient. I think if an ezine says it's underpowered, a reasonable argument can be made that it competes well in the basic messaging space. That's what BBRY needs it to do for now, IMHO.

I do believe a weaker argument wonders how long it takes competing platforms to get to where they are. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. We see the same thing with regards to perceived weaknesses in BB10: well, iOS didn't get this till then. Well, consumers don't have complaint timers with grace periods.

[southlander]

I didn't say it is.

I think for what it needs to do for BBRY, at this time, it is sufficient. I think if an ezine says it's underpowered, a reasonable argument can be made that it competes well in the basic messaging space. That's what BBRY needs it to do for now, IMHO.

I do believe a weaker argument wonders how long it takes competing platforms to get to where they are. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. We see the same thing with regards to perceived weaknesses in BB10: well, iOS didn't get this till then. Well, consumers don't have complaint timers with grace periods.

Yes I agree one can't argue that for example BlackBerry 10 can take its time because OS "x" didn't have this or that until so many years out.

But BBM topping the apps stores in downloads proves that a large number of folks at least think it has an adequate feature set. Now if there's evidence later that most folks uninstall it, then maybe it will have fallen short. We will have to wait on that.

My problem with that style of review is that it takes issue with the app for "only" being excellent at its core purpose. It's like criticizing Google as a search engine for "only" giving one the speediest and most relevant results. And then going on to name and applaud five other less competent search engines for having more features and being "prettier".



Z10STL100-4/10.2.0.1767

[iN8ter]

If BBM has few features then which IM is fully featured? These idiots probably think the double check mark in WhatsApp means the recipient t has read your message.

Even the most die hard android and apple people I know who are trying this app love the speed, the D and R and the awesome group functionality.

Posted via CB10

I'm starting to wonder if you people actually used any other IM messengers in the past 3+ years, at all, literally. Cause you talk as if you have used nothing but BBM. Additionally, I'm unsure if you people have even used BBM on Android or iOS, which is what this review is focused on...

Android/iOS BBM is not really any faster than any other IM client I've used, and D/R isn't a selling point as practically all other mainstream IM apps with only two notable exceptions have that implemented. The first is WhatsApp not having 'R' (which some people honestly could care less about for OBVIOUS reasons) and Skype not having either of those.

There is a HUGE feature gap between Android/iOS BBM and competing messengers like Hangouts, iMessage + FaceTime + iCloud (which can reliably be lumped together due to their ties to the iOS OS), ChatOn, Kik, Viber, Skype, and even WhatsApp. It's at the point that even stock SMS/MMS clients offer more features for sharing media and data than BBM does on Android and iOS.

It's hard to care about whether or not someone has read a message in a specific chat client when the feature lag of BBM on these platforms basically forces you to use that client to supplement it's lack of features.

Also, BBM has been having some pretty ridiculous reliability issues for a lot of people, failing to deliver messages and whatnot.

We had to drop it because it was basically unusable due to those issues.

As a social messenger, BBM lags far behind apps like ChatON, Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, and Apple's Suite of Services in iOS.

You can only get away with having such thin features if your user base in the user's areas is HUGE. WhatsApp has that advantage, and the review points it out. BBM has no such advantage. People looking to replace MMS with an IM client cannot depend on BBM for Android/iOS to fill that gap right now. It is simply lacking it too many areas.

[iN8ter]

Care to name the many?

Kik, Viber, ChatOn, Hangouts, iMessage, Facebook Messenger, Path, Tango, Touch (formerly PingChat), eBuddy XMS...

Those are just the well-known ones. If 10 is not many, then what is?

Should I continue? I can probably come up with 5-10 more if I actually put more thought into it...

[barohatoum]

The article has clearly been paid for by whatsapp. Whatsapp is not even close to be a fully featured messaging app and yet the author dares to compare bbm to whatsapp.

IMO, as much as I hate it, I think tango is the only fully featured messaging app (not including the r & d); its got text,voice,video and games and stickers, but their servers suck. I make the same phone call to my brother overseas using tango and bbm video, u get a better call quality on bbm.

Lets just hope BlackBerry is nit going to sleep on the wheel to bring voice nd video to bbm for iphone nd android.

Posted via CB10

[iN8ter]

Voice and video isn't a big deal to most. Sending a simple video file is in 2013.

Share it from your gallery if you use Android.

However file size is limited to 6MB so it's functionally worthless for sharing Videos.

You can share other file types form the File Manager as well. 6MB file size limit still applies. Can't even send one music score with that kind of limit, so even that work-around wasn't of much use to me and the people I shuttle media around with via these types of apps.

Of course the people on this forum will just tell you to use Dropbox or something else, completely defeating the purpose of using the app itself (you don't need an IM to share i.e. a Drive File, as Drive will send them an email with the link automatically :-) ).

[iN8ter]

Except that you can't mute/squelch Group notifications with the Android/iOS app. Fairly important feature that's missing. Join a couple of groups, and your device goes nuts.

And your battery gets killed because the device is abusing your Speakers and Vibration Motor.

Oh, and it actually can break your vibration motor because of that overuse.

[iN8ter]

The article has clearly been paid for by whatsapp. Whatsapp is not even close to be a fully featured messaging app and yet the author dares to compare bbm to whatsapp.

IMO, as much as I hate it, I think tango is the only fully featured messaging app (not including the r & d); its got text,voice,video and games and stickers, but their servers suck. I make the same phone call to my brother overseas using tango and bbm video, u get a better call quality on bbm.

Lets just hope BlackBerry is nit going to sleep on the wheel to bring voice nd video to bbm for iphone nd android.

Posted via CB10

Voice and Video Chat isn't what people need. They need basic messaging features that this app is missing. Both Voice and Video Chat are still rather niche and those who do rely on it are using something like Hangouts because it is far more capable than Skype-style Video Chatting.

The lack of a desktop or web client also hurts. You are basically tethered to your phone if you use this, and the market is moving away from this type of usage scenario.

[iN8ter]

Enterprise is the focus. Thus they are not going to have it mine one's address book. I predict.

Enterprise is not going to use a consumer app for business communications, and services like Lync etc. do integrate with things like Active Directory in the enterprise so there is precedent there for dipping into the corporate "white pages" for contact aggregation. Just not with anything on someone's device.

A consumer device should offer the user the option so that they do not have to hunt for contacts. It's a pretty simple concept.

[iN8ter]

Good grief!! Increase your fonts and maybe you can read better.

BBM for Android/iOS does not allow you to change the font size...

[southlander]

Enterprise is not going to use a consumer app for business communications, and services like Lync etc. do integrate with things like Active Directory in the enterprise so there is precedent there for dipping into the corporate "white pages" for contact aggregation. Just not with anything on someone's device.

A consumer device should offer the user the option so that they do not have to hunt for contacts. It's a pretty simple concept.

Secure BBM on a BES is not a consumer app.

Z10STL100-4/10.2.0.1767

[iN8ter]

I personally like The Verge a lot.

But I disagree with the lack of prime importance the author places on the BBM messaging aspect. The author acknowledges the lightning fast speed -- core to BBM's appeal and simplicity. To downplay that is like downplaying Google's spare search box. Google search is lauded for its spare utility. BBM provides similar utility in messaging. Oh well.

The speed he was talking about was how they put the Send button where Enter is on the soft keyboard. He wasn't talking about the actual speed of message delivering, but the actual speed of message entry. A lot of apps put the send button in the app user interface and others do not allow you the option of using the Enter key to send the message, you have to tap that button to send a message. BBM gives you both options.

Sending messages is fast on any decent IM application. BBM for Android/iOS holes no real advantages there. That was just one nuance that the reviewer was pleased with (and rightfully so).

[iN8ter]

Secure BBM on a BES is not a consumer app.

Z10STL100-4/10.2.0.1767

Were not talking about secure bbm. We're talking about consumer bbm. So now I'm wondering if you ever believed you had a point.

We have been over this confusing mess you people have created by basically using BES BBM and Consumer BBM so interchangeably that people not "in the know" don't even know the difference between the two. BBM for iOS/Android - not on BES - is not really that much more secure than Hangouts, iMessage, Skype, ChatOn or other messengers which also use Encryption... If at all.

They are not the same services.

What you're doing is the equivalent to saying Skype is super secure for businesses then flipping it around when called out and saying "Yea, I was talking about Lync. The "Business Skype!""

Stop confusing people.

And I'm well aware that people on BES may be able to BBM people outside of the corporate network. Lync has such interoperability with Skype (and used to have it with WLM) as well. That is nothing new. The distinction still needs to be made, because a lot of people are going around tech blogs and social networks giving BES BBM information to people, clearly lying when that information simply does not apply to the consumer service they are signing up for.

Sent from my Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 4

[iN8ter]

How long did it take whatsapp to get push to talk and for google to build hangouts and flesh out their apps. The verge reviewer is acting like these "features" are built overnight but then again what did I expect it is the verge and the subject is concerning BlackBerry.

Hangouts existed since Google+ launched in 2011 - First it was Called Huddles, then Google+ Messenger, and now it's called Hangouts. It was integrated into the Google+ App. All they did was siphon it out, give it a new UI, rename it, and replace Google Talk with it :-) Google+ Messenger has ALWAYS supported things like S/D/R, Video Calling, and Group Messaging... The move to Hangouts actually seen some useful features deleted: namely the ability to communicate with Cell Phone Numbers over a data connection (they could reply to the thread and it went to your Google+ Messenger, and it worked for Group Conversations as well).

All Push to Talk is, is a shortcut for sending Voice Notes, which WhatsApp already supported :-) Push to Talk is significantly faster in some IM clients, but the minimalistic nature of WhatsApp's UI means you don't really save all that much time using Push to Talk over voice Notes, IMO.

So I'm not sure what point you think you have there, Sparky...

[sportline]

If hangout was so successful and sophisticated then why the name changes every other weekend? No one seems to use hangout, let alone heard about it.

Jakarta, Indonesia

[southlander]

Were not talking about secure bbm. We're talking about consumer bbm. So now I'm wondering if you ever believed you had a point.

We have been over this confusing mess you people have created by basically using BES BBM and Consumer BBM so interchangeably that people not "in the know" don't even know the difference between the two. BBM for iOS/Android - not on BES - is not really that much more secure than Hangouts, iMessage, Skype, ChatOn or other messengers which also use Encryption... If at all.

They are not the same services.

What you're doing is the equivalent to saying Skype is super secure for businesses then flipping it around when called out and saying "Yea, I was talking about Lync. The "Business Skype!""

Stop confusing people.

And I'm well aware that people on BES may be able to BBM people outside of the corporate network. Lync has such interoperability with Skype (and used to have it with WLM) as well. That is nothing new. The distinction still needs to be made, because a lot of people are going around tech blogs and social networks giving BES BBM information to people, clearly lying when that information simply does not apply to the consumer service they are signing up for.

Sent from my Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 4

I never said BBM on iOS or Android **currently** can go through a BES. You seem to have assumed that meaning. But it seems obvious to me at least that BlackBerry is probably aiming to translate the success of BBM "for all" as it stands into success in the enterprise by adding support for it on the already existing iOS and Android MDM feature set on BES 10.

There's no denying a lot of people are downloading BBM. BlackBerry has stated repeatedly they are not targeting consumers. So it makes little sense to even do cross platform BBM and give away a free messaging app as some plan to produce revenue. It only adds value if it ties into the enterprise focus at some point in time.

Lol. And thanks for using the word "lying" in your post. As if there's some intent to mislead folks when I am simply giving an opinion on the future direction BlackBerry will take with BBM. Real classy of you.

Z10STL100-4/10.2.0.1767

[iN8ter]

I never said BBM on iOS or Android **currently** can go through a BES. You seem to have assumed that meaning. But it seems obvious to me at least that BlackBerry is probably aiming to translate the success of BBM "for all" as it stands into success in the enterprise by adding support for it on the already existing iOS and Android MDM feature set on BES 10.

There's no denying a lot of people are downloading BBM. BlackBerry has stated repeatedly they are not targeting consumers. So it makes little sense to even do cross platform BBM and give away a free messaging app as some plan to produce revenue. It only adds value if it ties into the enterprise focus at some point in time.

Z10STL100-4/10.2.0.1767

Blackberry are targeting consumers with BB4ALL. They said as much. Where did you read them specifically say they were not targeting consumers with BBM and BBM Channels Social Network?

I think you dreamt this up.

[southlander]

Blackberry are targeting consumers with BB4ALL. They said as much. Where did you read them specifically say they were not targeting consumers with BBM and BBM Channels Social Network?

I think you dreamt this up.

Since you have resorted to accusing folks having civil discussions of "lying", and are taking on an increasingly insulting tone. Like talking about the empty space in the back of someone's head in another thread, I do believe I am done replying to you.

Take care.

Z10STL100-4/10.2.0.1767

[iN8ter]

If hangout was so successful and sophisticated then why the name changes every other weekend? No one seems to use hangout, let alone heard about it.

Jakarta, Indonesia

Did you ever look at any of the Mobile Nations video podcasts? What do you think they use for it? BBM Video Chat?

No, they use Hangouts.

Hangouts is quite popular. A lot of people use it. The app is delivered as an update that replaces Google Talk on Android, so a lot of people actually have it installed and most (all except two or three) of the features work even in the absence of a Google+ Profile.

The app is going to be preloaded on all Android 4.3+ devices and any devices that receive a 4.3+ update. It works on Tablets and Phones, in any modern Web Browser, and on the Windows Desktop.

To convince yourself that no one has heard of it, when Android has such a huge install base and the app shows up as an update in the Play Store for a huge majority of them is a bit delusional...

[iN8ter]

Since you have resorted to accusing folks having civil discussions of "lying", and are taking on an increasingly insulting tone. Like talking about the empty space in the back of someone's head in another thread, I do believe I am done replying to you.

Take care.

Z10STL100-4/10.2.0.1767

A spade is a spade.

There is no way for BBM to survive as a Network without the consumer market, so BB is rightfully targeting them with BBM and BBM channels. Brands won't want to use something like Channels as an advertising channel if the company running it is shunning the consumer market. It's just a dumb thought to begin with.

Wal-Mart isn't advertising Yammer... They're on Facebook and Twitter (among other consumer-oriented social services).

People lie in these forums all the time. It's filled with that stuff and it's a bit disheartening that instead of having civil discussions one must spend so much of their time correcting misinformation so that those looking for help or useful information can find it in the relevant threads.

Have a great day!

P.S. Don't refer to my posts out of context. If you have issue with it, address it in the relevant thread where it's quite clear what I said and it's quite visible what I was responding to (the relevant post was quoted by me). The fact that I choose to use words instead of emoticons to express sarcasm doesn't make my post any worse than that which was addressed to me.

[Pete The Penguin]

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

They don't!! Only BBM had an "R" to let you know when a contact has actually read your message.

CrackBerry already pointed this out in an article.

[iN8ter]

They don't!! Only BBM had an "R" to let you know when a contact has actually read your message.

CrackBerry already pointed this out in an article.

If they pointed this out the way you seem to imply they did, then they were wrong.

And I doubt they did that, because they actually do use different service and devices and don't tend to have blinders on when it comes to seeing these things.

Furthermore, I already listed 10 services upthread that have this... Did you review the thread?