Can BBM be relevant once more?

- Getty Images

This weekend marks a new beginning for BlackBerry Messenger (popularly known as BBM) as it becomes available on iPhones and Android smartphones. With an addressable market of a billion users, BBM has the possibility of becoming much bigger than it could have ever been were it to be stuck with BlackBerry smartphones, sales of which have fallen so rapidly that the company is investigating “strategic options” (read going private or a sale). With just 60 million BBM users and increased competition from services like WhatsApp, WeChat, Line and others, can BBM still be relevant?

A few things I hear regularly from existing BlackBerry users is how their BBM contacts have shifted to WhatsApp and how most of the conversations have moved on from BBM. Then there are also some users who keep a BlackBerry just because of BBM. “I cannot wait for BBM to come to Android. I want to move from BlackBerry but cannot do that right now,” a journalist friend who works for a newswire told me earlier this week brandishing his old BlackBerry smartphone.

While many BlackBerry users have moved on to an iPhone or an Android smartphone and have moved to WhatsApp, they miss BBM. “Unlike WhatsApp, where anyone who has my number can ping me, I find BBM more private and secure. I also miss the whole charm about sharing your BBM PIN with someone so that they could add you,” says a producer for a television news channel.

BBM has the legacy. There are millions of former BlackBerry users who have now shifted platforms and miss BBM. There are hundreds of millions more (yours truly included) who have had friends raving about BBM but could never think of shifting to a BlackBerry smartphone to experience it. Now they will be able to see what BBM is all about. Whether they would stick to BBM or continue with WhatsApp and others is a different matter, they will download BBM once at least. Is BlackBerry late in introducing BBM for iOS and Android? Probably. Is it too late? Probably not.

Don’t be shocked or surprised if your Facebook and Twitter feed is full of people sharing their BBM PIN over the weekend.
Read story on bgr.in where it was first published.

Comments

DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A MASON IN NIGERIA

After all i have said about this fraternity if you are still interested in becoming a mason there are just simply ways in which you can do that, but inspite of my post i am neither encouraging nor discouraging you all i am doing is just to let you know more about this frat and there's more to come about those who have joined, the so called stars like jay-z, kanye west etc i guess its just 7 simple ways to join and off you go Are there things you want to accomplish in your life? Are there ways you want to enrich yourself? Do you enjoy being with people you like and respect? As a Freemason, you’ll find friendship and fraternity. You’ll develop life skills like self-confidence, leadership, and effective communication. You’ll learn to work as part of a team and to better yourself as you help others. Think about taking the first step into becoming a Mason. It is widely thought that one must be invited to become a Freemason or that Freemasonry is so exclusive as to be beyond the

Microsoft Is About To Leave One-Third Of All Computers Vulnerable To Hacking

Hundreds of millions of computers running everything from ATMs to the power grid will be vulnerable to hacking next month when Microsoft stops supporting its old Windows XP operating system. Hackers have been holding onto flaws in Windows XP and waiting to exploit them until after the software giant stops issuing security updates on April 8, experts say. Adam Meyers, vice president of intelligence at Crowdstrike, a cybersecurity firm, said it was “fairly dangerous” to continue using the 12-year-old operating system because after the deadline “victims can’t defend themselves.” “I certainly wouldn't run Windows XP after the 8th," Meyers said in an interview. Microsoft announced six years ago it will no longer provide security patches or technical support for the out-of-date software. Yet about one-third of computers around the world -- or about 500 million PCs -- still run Windows XP. On Microsoft’s website , a clock ticks down to next month’s Windows deadline an

Soon You Won't Have To Type In Your Credit Card Number On Your iPhone

Apple plans to make online shopping a little easier this fall. iOS8, the new iPhone operating system that's coming out later this year, will let you scan your credit card when buying something in Safari . Instead of typing in numbers, you'll be able to hold up your card and have the iPhone automatically recognize the numbers and punch them in for you. Here's what it will look like, with photos courtesy of 9to5 Mac: Apple debuted both the new iPhone and Mac operating systems in San Francisco on Monday. Though you can't get the updates until this fall, a few developers already have access -- and the credit card feature is just one of several changes that are coming to your phone and computer. The company also has plans to make texting easier, and might be changing the font on the Mac for the first time ever. Some apps like Uber already use similar technology to the new card-scanning option, allowing you to hold your credit card up to your phone and get the

HELLO

Search This Blog