In my view the future is now about three Echosystems..

Windows Phone, IOS and Android..........

With RIM losing marketshare should BBM go multiplatform and potentially be installed on a billion devices if you include PC`s,MACS, Tablets and Phones ???

I think if they dont act when Microsoft integratates SKYPE with Live Messenger and puts it on every device in the market they could have a big problem..

All your threads come across like a journalist trying to write a news story.

I don't think it's a viable option for BBM to go multiplatform. If it did, however, people would have less incentive to go for a BlackBerry as their next phone, since the most popular feature is available on other platforms.

Unless they have adverts in it on the other platforms... That might work out then...

Haha maybe a new career for me..........anyway this isnt twitter so no need to follow all my threads

To be honest I just find the mobile arena really interesting at the moment and I like digitalspy because you get a good feel of what ordinary people are thinking unlike a site which is more biased towards a particular platform...

I personally use a Blackberry Curve and an Omnia 7 but I am tempted by an Android HTC Wildfire S which Orange has offered me for free for a fiver a month.

You carry all these phones at the same time?

I carry a windows phone for personal use and blackberry for business... I have an international SIM for calls to family abroad which is why I'm considering a third device. I probbably. I usually don't carry all at the same time...

Nope. I dont see the point in BBM being on any other phone. It doesn't offer any more functionality than Whatsapp or a messenger client which sits on constantly in the background.

From a technical point of view I don't think BBM would work on other devices would it? Blackberry's have a unique PIN and are connected to RIM's servers using a BIS or BES add-on.

It could be modified to work though. Loads of other apps provide similar functionality such as WhatsApp on multiple platforms, including the Blackberry.

For many teens BBM is that main selling point of the Blackberry, so my son tells me. Hence it probably would be counterproductive for RIM to provide it other platforms IMHO. Of course teens aren't their only customers as many of the corporates love their Blackberrys too - but sales figures suggest this is dropping of late.

On this point some consider Skype old technology and MS/Skype are going to be left behind by Googles new:
- google voice
- google video
- google tv
offerings.
Google really are moving quickly and getting into everything. We are now using their business email hosting/spam filtering at work. I'm not a fan of googles dominance.

Considering I had to google to remind me what BBM means, this certainly might mean it is quite irrelevant .

I don't get BBM. I mean, most if not all mobile users have a text allowance, if not an unlimited allowance?!?

Text messaging works on ALL phones. Why bother with BBM?

I've never understood it either tbh.

Also most if not all phones can have an always on instant messaging client that's a hell of a lot more functional than BBM. Also dont require a daft pin number.

I dont care about dominance. If a companies products get the job done that's good enough for me.

To answer an earlier question about why you would need or use BBM over traditional "unlimited texts":-

This is my situation:-


I use a BB 9780.

I have an "unlimited texts" package with 02 on PAYG.

This doesn't allow me to:

send pictures
send video
send voice mail clips
see when the message is delivered straight away or when it is read

Blackberry Messenger, on the other hand does.... and as most of my contacts have a BB, I use this ALL the time over text - in fact - I barely touch my text allowance!

So, whilst it may be somewhat limited to other BBM users, if your main people have a BB it's a far better system to use...

All the above can also be done with WhatsApp which works on all platforms.

Fair point. My plan has unlimited texts and 100MMS (includes video and audio). Delivery reports don't bother me so don't use them (and iPhone doesn't support them anyway). I have WhatsApp on the iPhone but can't remember when I last used it as it's too much hassle.

^^this.

For me a BBM saves me a hell of a lot.

Fair comment about the unlimited text allowance, sadly it doesn't cover international texts. My partner lives in Germany and Im glued to my BBM msging her all the time. I have used whatspp and other clients, but nothing works better than BBM.

Having used both, Whatsapp is so much better than BBM in every respect.

WhatsApp is too much hassle.. how exactly? I've only recently started using it, but I honestly don't think it could be any less hassle to use. You don't even have to add people.

I had a completely different experience with Whatsapp. A friend and I downloaded it but it was slow and buggy on blackberry and iphone so both of us deleted it.
Whatsapp is also just not as well known...when someone gets a new bb the first thing they do is add all their friends on bbm. Nobody asks for Whatsapp usernames.
I think its time for bbm to go multi-platform before Apple's iMessage arrives which is basically a copy of bbm for ios. Big news for people that have stayed with blackberry for bbm.

Buggy? Ive used it on all 3 platforms and it couldnt be less buggy! Works first time, every time. Far more feature rich than BBM and looks a hell of a lot better as well.

No one needs to ask for whatsapp usernames since it adds them itself lol

I just dont get the hype for BBM. As i have said, there are better apps that can be used for the exact same thing.

I'm not at all familiar with BlackBerry, though I did find the new PlayBook interesting. There I think the BlackBerry's developers tip their hand. PlayBook looks like nothing more than an exceptionally capable tablet computer, in effect a system that takes the ideas of the iPad and implements them in a very grown-up way. It runs a a mature and stable real time operating system, QNX Neutrino, and supports Adobe Flash and AIR, as well as a compatibility mode for running Android 2.3 applications. To show your presentation just plug it into a monitor or digital projector using the HDMI connection.

There's nothing quite like it on the market. And of course for those businesses that already integrate BlackBerry communications into their infrastructure it's a welcome addition. Sales have outstripped expectations.

I agree that RIM should look primarily to Microsoft for competition ; the latter are no slouches at business integration and vendor lock-in themselves.

For those who, like me don't know this "BBM" thing from a hole in the ground, here's a handy link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry_Messenger

And may I please remind posters that this is a general forum where it is probably a good idea to explain any abbreviations we use, especially those pertaining to a single technology platform.