BBM For IOS, Android Release Date Delayed
BBM is one of BlackBerry’s most valuable assets next to the company’s
corporate email technology (BES), but the decision to bring the IM
client to Android and iOS has been fraught with issues – the most recent
being the news of BlackBerry’s potential sale Fairfax Financial.
BBM will go into direct competition with services like WhatsApp on
Apple and Google’s mobile platforms. Interestingly, WhatsApp now boasts
around 200 million users, according to The Telegraph, versus BBM’s 60
million.
BlackBerry hasn’t discussed expected adoption rates thus far, but a
look at the gross figures show that BBM has a long way to go before it
catches up with WhatsApp. Still, 1 million downloads of the leaked APK
is a pretty decent start.
The leaked version of BBM was apparently downloaded 1.1 million
times, according to reports. BBM did appear in the App Store in some
regions, but the release has now been delayed.
Users who did manage to download BBM via the App Store will still be
able to use it, although BlackBerry has now disabled the leaked Android
version.
See BlackBerry’s official statement below:
“Prior to launching BBM for Android, an unreleased version of the BBM
for Android app was posted online. The interest and enthusiasm we have
seen already - more than 1.1 million active users in the first 8 hours
without even launching the official Android app - is incredible.
Consequently, this unreleased version caused issues, which we have
attempted to address throughout the day.
“Our teams continue to work around the clock to bring BBM to Android
and iPhone, but only when it's ready and we know it will live up to your
expectations of BBM. We are pausing the global roll-out of BBM for
Android and iPhone. Customers who have already downloaded BBM for iPhone
will be able to continue to use BBM. The unreleased Android app will be
disabled, and customers who downloaded it should visit www.BBM.com to register for updates on official BBM for Android availability.
“As soon as we are able, we will begin a staggered country roll-out
of BBM for Android and continue the roll-out of BBM for iPhone. Please
follow @BBM on Twitter for the latest updates and go to www.BBM.com to sign-up for updates about BBM for Android and iPhone. These issues have not impacted BBM service for BlackBerry.”
Although BlackBerry did not elaborate on the cause of these "issues",
security expert Graham Cluley suggested that BlackBerry may not have
been able to cope with the spike of activity hitting its servers, reports The Telegraph.
"What seems, in part, to have tripped up BlackBerry is the poorly-policed free-and-easy Google Play Android app store, where multiple BBM apps, posing as official releases, appeared," he said.
"Most Android users assume that if an app is in the official Google
Play store, it must be official and safe to install on their phone. The
truth, sadly, is rather different."
Writing on Inside BlackBerry, Andrew Brocking has now provided the
following update about what BlackBerry is up to re: BBM for Android and
iPhone:
"The team is now focused on adjusting the system to completely
block this unreleased version of the Android app when we go live with
the official BBM for Android app. We are also making sure that the
system is reinforced to handle this kind of scenario in the future.
While this may sound like a simple task – it’s not. This will take some time and I do not anticipate launching this week."
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