His email address is more by Matt Hamblen on is a popular brand name in the mobile arena. Follow Matt on Twitter at or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed. Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Windows Phone recently overtook BlackBerry as the third-largest smartphone brand shipping globally. BBM video and BBM voice calling are also planned for Android and iPhone in a future version, but BlackBerry didn't disclose when.īBM isn't yet available for Windows Phone smartphones, and BlackBerry didn't indicate when, or whether, that would occur. The conversations can be organized around common interests, brands, celebrities and more. Later in 2013, BlackBerry is expected to unveil BBM Channels to allow for conversations between users and communities. For iPhones running iOS 6 and iOS 7, BBM will be available in the App Store at 12:01 a.m.

The Android download will be available at 7 a.m. A function called Broadcast Message allows users to send out a message to all their BBM contacts at the same time.īBM relies on a unique PIN to authorize a user, which BlackBerry maintains is more secure than giving out a phone number or email address to a new contact. Up to 30 friends can join in group chats and share photos and schedules. BBM lets a user know that a message has been delivered and read and shows when a friend is responding. In addition to BBM text chat, users can share files such as photos and voice notes. 'With more than a billion Android, iOS and BlackBerry smartphones in the market, and no dominant mobile messaging platform, this is absolutely the right time to bring BBM to Android and iPhone customers,' Andrew Bocking, executive vice president for BBM at BlackBerry, said in a statement. BBM will be a free download in the Google Play store for Android on Saturday and in the Apple App Store for iPhone on Sunday, BlackBerry said.

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