Google might prefer Android users to stick with Hangouts for their instant messaging, but BlackBerry has inked a deal to preload BBM on a number of handsets running the OS in mulitple regions. The agreement – which will affect select Android phones offered in Africa, India, Indonesia, Latin America, and the Middle East – won’t […]
BlackBerry’s devices division hasn’t had much luck lately, all of the devices that it released this year failed to make a mark. However, the company’s once iconic messaging service, BlackBerry Messenger, continues to bring some good news. It was recently announced after the roll out of BBM on iOS and Android that the service brought in over 20 million new users from the rival platforms in its first week alone. BBM Channels, a social network of sorts, rolls out today to the public after initially being announced back in May.
BBM Channels is geared towards companies, brands and high-profile users. For example, a company can create its own BBM Channel interact with people through it. BBM users will be able to post questions and communicate with the company, which will have the option to share pictures, messages and even GIFs. The service is open to individual users as well, who can create their own BBM Channels to interact with people. The public roll out of BBM Channels commences today at 12 p.m. PT., it will be initially available for BlackBerry 10 devices and for legacy BlackBerry owners running OS5 or higher. The company says that the feature will be rolled out for BBM on iOS and Android in the coming months.
BBM Channels Finally Rolls Out Today To The Public original content from Ubergizmo. 
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BlackBerry’s tentative step into the world of feed-based social networking, BBM Channels, is at last leaving beta. As of 3PM Eastern, those with BlackBerry 10 and classic BlackBerry OS devices can use the Tumblr-like service for themselves, subscribing to content feeds from both major providers and their friends. Android and iOS users, meanwhile, will have to sit tight — BlackBerry says that Channels support for their platforms is arriving in the “coming months.”
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: CrackBerry
BlackBerry’s BBM app is free to use and comes bundled with BlackBerry phones, and has also made its way, also for free, onto iOS and Android devices. With the app being free, how does BlackBerry plan on making money from it? After all WhatsApp has a subscription service and LINE has in-app purchases to help generate revenue, so what can BBM do to help make money? While that remains to be seen, it looks like BlackBerry has recently made an acquisition in the form of ScrOOn that is a company that helps to manage the social media pages of large companies, such as Warner Bros. Entertainment, LVMH, and etc.
According to ScrOOn’s founder, Alexandre Mars, he states that the acquisition is part of BlackBerry’s bid to make a profit from their BBM platform. One of the ways could be from dedicated BlackBerry channels focused on a specific theme, and like we can see from the companies that ScrOOn helps to manage, these channels could range from entertainment to fashion and luxury goods, where companies can pay to have sponsored posts in these channels that target a specific group of customers. It sounds like an interesting idea and we have to wonder when such an initiative will kick off, but if anything it looks like the wheels are already in motion with this acquisition.
BlackBerry Acquires ScrOON To Help Make BBM Profitable original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Emoticons are used daily when we chat over instant messenger, with some messengers coming bundled with their own set of emoticons instead of relying on third-party alternatives. BBM is one of them and the messenger platform has had its own set of emoticons that they have been using for a while now. However if you think that some of the emoticons are dated, or perhaps could use a couple of new ones since the old ones don’t really express how you feel, you’re in luck because BlackBerry is now calling for users to submit their ideas for new BBM emoticons!
According to the post on Facebook, BlackBerry is asking users to submit their ideas by leaving a detailed description of what they have in mind in a message replying to the post. Unfortunately it does not look like they’re accepting files at the moment, so graphic designers will have to describe what it is they have in mind. If you don’t have an idea of your own, BlackBerry has suggested that you like some of the posts whose idea you think makes sense. This deadline for submissions is set for the 20th of November, so if you’d like the chance to see your emoticon idea incorporated into BBM, time to start brainstorming!
BlackBerry Wants Your Help Designing New BBM Emoticons original content from Ubergizmo. 
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BlackBerry Messenger – or BBM – has been updated today to include a list of fixes and feature additions for Android and the inclusion of a couple new devices for iOS. This new version of BBM works with the wi-fi-only iPad now as well as the iPod touch where the first version did not. This […]
BlackBerry has announced that updates to its BBM app for iOS and Android are going to be rolled out later today. The company had previously said that iPads won’t be supported at launch, the latest update is going to bring BBM for Wi-Fi only iPads as well as the iPod touch, apart from a number of other features that are going to be added to both the iOS and Android apps. BBM overcame its initial launch problems when it was released once again a few weeks back, and it has managed to bring in more than 20 million new users in its first week.
The updated apps will now allow users to invite a BBM content to their BBM groups through e-mail, a feature that will come in handy particularly when the recipient’s BBM PIN is not known. Apart from bug fixes and performance improvements, the updated apps will let users share their BBM PIN and PIN barcode directly to Facebook and Twitter. BBM for Android will now let users create categories in which they can organize BBM contacts and they’ll also be able to sort and filter BBM groups. The app updates will be available as a free download from both the App Store and the Google Play Store, they’re expected to go live later today.
BBM Apps Being Updated Today, Wi-Fi iPads And iPod Touch Now Supported original content from Ubergizmo. 
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BlackBerry’s BBM instant-messaging service will be updated to run on WiFi-only iOS devices like the iPad and iPod touch “within 24 hours” the company has confirmed. The new version follows BBM’s release for iOS and Android in late October for cellularly-enabled devices, with head of BBM Andrew Bocking confirming the imminent update to SlashGear today. […]
With BlackBerry’s BBM messenger platform having a pretty solid reputation as an instant messenger, even before the likes of LINE and WhatsApp and Viber came along, is it really a surprise that the app saw a whopping 20 million users join its service in its first week of availability? To a certain extent this isn’t really surprising, but is BBM for iOS and Android popular only because of the novelty of using the app outside of the BlackBerry platform? Or is it truly a great app? Admittedly it could be a bit of both, but as it stands the numbers are suggesting that BBM for iOS and Android is starting to gain momentum and thanks to Mobidia releasing the numbers to the folks at BGR, we now know just how popular the app truly is.
According to the numbers, it is found that engagement of the BBM platform in the US sits at 40 minutes. This is compared to the likes of Tango which is only at 24 minutes, and came pretty close to matching Viber which sits at 44 minutes, which is impressive given that Viber has been available on iOS and Android for a while now. Over in Europe, BBM managed to beat out popular messenger, LINE, by clocking in 59 minutes of engagement versus LINE’s 38 minutes, although they are still pretty far from WhatsApp’s 160 minutes. However given that the app was only launched recently, these are pretty impressive stats and we can’t wait to see if BlackBerry will be able to maintain those numbers in the future.
BBM Engagement Study Finds That It Is Holding Its Own original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Earlier this year BlackBerry announced that it would finally be opening up BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM, to Android and iPhone. The launch finally took place last week, after the initial roll out encountered a number of issues. The BBM app instantly became popular, topping the charts on both Google Play Store and the App Store. BlackBerry has now revealed the official user stats, announcing that 20 million new BBM users have been added in the past week alone. The launch on Android and iOS brings the total number of BBM users to 80 million, 60 million of them being on BlackBerry devices.
The company reveals that BBM was the top free overall app in 35 countries on Google Play and 107 countries in the App Store. Markets where BBM continues to maintain a strong position include Canada, UK, the U.S., Middle East and Indonesia among others. The company also highlights its new sharing tool at www.bbm.com/share, which allows users to quickly add new contacts to BBM. There’s also a new way to share PIN with people you want to add on BBM through www.pin.bbm.com. BlackBerry says that it still has a “few more tricks” up its sleeve which will be shared in the coming months as the company adds even more features to BBM on Android and iPhone. Voice and video chats are just two of the features that have already been confirmed.
BBM On Android And iPhone Adds 20 Million Users In First Week original content from Ubergizmo. 
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