For better or worse, it was a day rich in BlackBerry news, with the launch of its new 5-inch portable Z30 followed by reports of imminent cuts and job confirmation that BBM will land on iOS and Android this weekend.
After weeks of speculation, as well as the odd loss and suggestion, the troubled smartphone maker says that BlackBerry Messenger will be available by Google Play store Saturday and Apple App Store the next day.
Announced may, BBM's expansion plan aims to make the chat time honored dominant service messaging service on mobile platforms, but faces stiff competition from the likes of Google Hangouts, WhatsApp, Skype and many others.
The app will enable cross-platform real-time chatting with groups and individuals, as well as photos and voice note sharing. BBM pin functionality also means users do not have to provide their phone number or email account to "casual" new contacts.
Pushing the merits of the new app, which will require 6 and 7 iOS iOS or Android's Ice Cream sandwiches and upwards, the company said: "BBM gives you a private social network for real conversations, active and has more than 60 million customers on BlackBerry alone. The vast majority USE BBM an average of 90 minutes per day. BBM, collectively, customers send and receive more than 10 billion messages every day, almost twice the number of messages per user per day compared to other mobile messaging applications. BBM messages are typically read in seconds, reflecting how truly engaged customers BBM are. "
However, in a somewhat less promising news, The Wall Street Journal reports that the company based in Waterloo, Ontario is planning to cut a massive 40 per cent of its workforce by the end of the year.
The beleaguered company is currently courting a potential sale of some or all of its business after the new OS BB10 failed to raise the fortunes.
As an era draws to a close, as the curtain on exclusivity BBM, fall of the once-great BlackBerry may not be far in conceding to the dominance of iOS and Android.
Via BGR
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