BBM for iPhone and Android
BlackBerry has announced that BlackBerry Messenger for Android and iPhone won’t be launching this week.
Following complications with an unreleased, older version of the BBM for Android app leaking onto the Google Play Store over the weekend, BlackBerry has to delay the official launch of the multiplatform BBM app.
Android and iPhone users eager to get BBM on their devices will now have to wait even longer to see the official app appear in the App Store and Google Play.
“We attempted to address the problems caused by the unreleased version throughout the day on Saturday, but as active users of the unreleased app neared a million – and accelerated – it became clear that the only way to address the issue was to pause the rollout for both Android and iPhone,” said Andrew Bocking, EVP of BBM, in an official blog post.
The app launch was delayed at the weekend, but BlackBerry was very vague about the readjusted release date for BBM. Now, it seems that it won’t be happening this week at all.
“The team is now focused on adjusting the system to completely block this unreleased version of the Android app when we go live with the official BBM for Android app. We are also making sure that the system is reinforced to handle this kind of scenario in the future. While this may sound like a simple task it’s not. This will take some time and I do not anticipate launching this week.”
This news will be yet another blow for the struggling Canadian smartphone manufacturer, especially following the news that BlackBerry has agreed to a $4.7 billion sale to Fairfax Financial consortium.
Prior to that, the company announced that it had to cut 40 per cent of its workforce following $1 billion Q2 losses.
Read more – BlackBerry Fairfax sale: RIP BlackBerry, your time is still up.
