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Why BBM Going Cross Platform is Awesome

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 13:27

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(Before It's News)

With the recent announcement of BlackBerry going cross platform has sent a shockwave throughout BlackBerry Nation. Some are for this new idea, while others are against it, and many others just don’t know what to think ; and this is only what I have encountered at BlackBerry Live. I haven’t gotten to the tweets, or the BBM’s or text or even Facebook notifications from friends, family, and curious consumers asking me if the news is true and why. I must say I was a little skeptical at first, and I spent a lot of Tuesday thinking about the pros and cons and both sides. After all was said and done I think I have put some sense to the shocking news.

For those who haven’t heard the news BlackBerry is launching BBM on iOS6 and on Android 4.0 over the summer. Android and Apple users will initially have access to chat and to groups. If approved then the iOS and Android versions will also contain the new channel feature (that is currently in beta zone for OS 5+ and BB10 devices).I have a strong feeling that the channel feature will be accepted by these platforms. The concerns seem to be that it will cause BlackBerry users to leave BlackBerry because these other platforms now offer BBM. Andrew Bocking Executive VP, Software Product Management and Ecosystem at BlackBerry had quite a bit to say about the subject, but really backed what CEO Thorsten Heins said during the keynote “…this is a statement of confidence…” This says a lot for the company, that they are confident in the product that they have, especially with features such as the Hub, Peek, and Flow. It’s not just about the apps, apps are important BlackBerry is definitely doing a great job of getting apps but the device, and how it makes the end users (that’s you) experience very simple, and easier to use and to multitask.

I’ve also heard other people say, “Bye bye, Whatsapp,” or “How will that affect the other cross platform apps, and relationships with companies such as Skype?” Once again, Andrew Bocking responded with this statement “We are great partners with all those partners; Skype, Whatsapp, Viber, etc and we will continue to be.” He continued to say “Mobile messaging is a broad opportunity to many partners.” So it looks like BBM will not hurt these other applications, or intended to. Look at it this way, not everyone likes the same thing, so it’s good to have options. Mobile messaging has so many opportunities. Look at how many cross platform messaging systems there are right now, and noticed how they have evolved, with the addition of voice or video chat including the messaging.

There is still a lot unknown about BBM Channels and it’s something that is still in the infant stages, and is being studied right now with BBM Channels now available for beta test in Beta Zone for BlackBerry OS devices and BlackBerry 10. Channels are still pending approval on other platforms and there is a whole world of opportunity for BlackBerry to monetize off of the content and posts. There really haven’t been any news on that as of yet once again since BBM Channels are still very new, but know that BlackBerry is looking at keeping it spam free, and is making sure that BBM Channels can be set up in such a way that the chat portion will not be tainted by Channels. Andrew Bocking mentioned (about the current beta version of BBM Channels) “We are going to see how people want to use it, to make sure it doesn’t impact the chat experience. Users can control how they dial in and out of channels.” BBM Channels with BBM chat mixes so many different aspects of networking all in one. It essentially turns BBM into a Super Networking App.

Finally, the cross platform version of BBM is looking to roll out the BBM connect APIs. That is huge news, as some may think it is a shocking blow to BlackBerry look at it this way. BlackBerry as a company has been evolving since the announcement of BlackBerry 10. Thy are really doing something differently among mobile computing devices. By allowing these APIs to roll out to other platform really gives users (the consumer) the ability to experience what BlackBerry users have known to be BBM; but here is the real thing to look at. By empowering developers with the knowledge of these APIs it makes it easier for Apple, and Android developers to want to bring their app over to BlackBerry and these apps will also be BBM connected at launch. How I understand this to be, it makes it easier for BlackBerry to also have big name apps because they are providing developers with the tools needed.

Timing definitely was key to this announcement. It is a statement of confidence, strong interest and strong reviews for products, and allows BlackBerry to take BBM to a wider audience. So I’ve said all of this to say be on the look out to see what is to come. Even though BlackBerry is letting BBM going cross platform there will be a lot in it for iOS and Android, but a lot of gain for BlackBerry, and most importantly the consumer will be the biggest winner. So keep watching as BlackBerry keeps Moving.

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