Officially announced at BlackBerry Live back in May, a BBM iOS and Android release date has now been pegged for September.
Stretching the previously confirmed ‘summer’ arrival for the app based messaging service, latest reports have now suggested that the BBM platform will take its first steps away from BlackBerry branded smartphones for the first time this September.
While BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins has remained tight-lipped on the matter, the company’s Managing Director of BlackBerry India, Sunil Lalvani has pointed to September as the final launch window for the new cross platform BBM apps.
“The service is coming to Android this summer. But summer as per North America, where it remains till September,” Lalvani said in a recent interview.
While the BBM iOS release is to see the WhatsApp rivalling free messaging service hit iPhone models, we revealed in an exclusive interview back in May that the iOS BBM app will not support iPad at launch.
“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.
Speaking directly with TrustedReviews during BlackBerry Live, he added: “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.”
Discussing why Apple’s tablet was off the cards he went on the add: “When you start looking at tablets, computers and other screens, the usage model changes and behaviour changes. For us right now the absolute focus is getting BBM onto smartphones.”
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Via: GeekyGadgets
