The BBM for iPhone app was submitted to Apple for review two weeks ago and is awaiting approval, BlackBerry personnel have confirmed.
Suggesting that the BBM for iPhone and indeed BBM for Android apps could be just days away from release, BlackBerry has confirmed it is only waiting on Apple’s approval to launch its popular free messaging service across multiple platforms for the first time.
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With BBM for iPhone and BBM for Android app releases confirmed by the former smartphone giant during its BlackBerry Live conference back in May, until now the Canadian manufacturer has remained relatively tight lipped on when iOS and Android users can expect to be able to download BBM to their devices.
Making the surprising announcement at BlackBerry Live, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins revealed that both the BBM for iPhone and BBM for Android apps would be launched this summer.
He stated: “It’s time to bring BBM to a greater audience, no matter what mobile device they carry.” He added: “This summer BBM will go across multiple platforms.”
Heins’ comments were echoed by BlackBerry’s Indian Managing Director Sunil Lalvani who narrowed down this summer arrival to September.
Lalvani stated: “This service is coming to Android this summer. But summer as per North America, where it remains till September.”
Playing host to a reduced array of features compared with the native BlackBerry BBM services, the BBM iOS and BBM for Android apps will also miss tablet support, being made exclusively available for smartphone devices.
“At this point it is iOS and Android, and that’s iOS phones running iOS 6 and higher,” Vivek Bhardwaj, Head of the BlackBerry Software Portfolio said while speaking with TrustedReviews at BlackBerry Live this year.
“Smartphone is our real focus and again it comes back to what BBM is. If you look BBM and the engagement and the activity, it’s because it is mobile, because people are on the go.”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
