BBM for iOS and Android for Free this Summer

I am pretty sure all of us have used a Blackberry once or more in our lives. The only thing that we miss about it in our super fancy iPhones and Android phones is BBM! Well, I guess there is a good news for all of you.

Blackberry CEO Thorsten Heins just confirmed that BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) will launch for iOS and Android later this summer. It will be free and allows all users to connect to one another, but it will be the most robust on BlackBerry 10. It requires iOS 6 and Android Ice Cream Sandwich or newer. It supports messaging and group chat, but BBM Voice, Screen Share, Video and Channels will roll out later.

“It is a state of confidence,” Heins explained. “The BB10 platform is so strong and the response has been so good that the time is right for BBM to become an independent mobile messaging platform.”

The app will be free on both Android and iOS. Much like other messaging apps, it will be a standalone application.

Initially, only messaging and group features will be available. But Heins promised that the rest of BBM will eventually make its way to the Android and iOS versions including screen sharing, BBM voice and the just-announced BBM channels.

“We are making the BBM platform more powerful than ever”, Heins proudly stated. And with this very uncharacteristic move from BlackBerry, it’s hard to argue against his statement.

It’s clear BlackBerry is finally waking up. They are no longer the big dog in the mobile war. If they are to survive, the company needs to forge new relationships and learn to work well with the two reigning platforms. This move to put BBM on Android and iOS is a big step forward. BlackBerry might actually have a chance.