Who's going to try BBM this weekend then?

[WelshBloke]

So apparently BBM will be available to Android and iOS users this weekend.

Anybody going to give it a go or do you think the days of BBMs ubiquity have passed?

Personally I think they should have done this a long time ago but theres still a chance that it could be big.

They have said that they have got voice and video chat ready for Android soon. If they do that for iOS as well it might be a decent cross platform messenger app.

I'll probably be giving it a go.

 

[Red Storm]

I don't know a single person that uses a BlackBerry, let alone BBM. So no I won't be trying it.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

do you need an account?

They're 3 years too late.

 

[WelshBloke]

I don't know a single person that uses a BlackBerry, let alone BBM. So no I won't be trying it.

Yeah but after the weekend there may be a lot of people using BBM regardless of what OS they are using.

 

[Red Storm]

Yeah but after the weekend there may be a lot of people using BBM regardless of what OS they are using.

I find these people are using services like Whatsapp already.

 

[WelshBloke]

do you need an account?

They're 3 years too late.

BBM uses a unique identifier for each account so I'd imagine that you would need an account. Pretty much ever messaging app needs an account.

Definitely agree with the last bit of your post though. They might still pull it off.

 

[WelshBloke]

I find these people are using services like Whatsapp already.

I don't use whatsapp. Does it do voice or video chat as well as text?

 

[Jodell88]

Most of the young people in my country have a Blackberry and use BBM. I'm the hipster that doesn't. I also use Viber instead of Whatsapp. I have voice, video and can chat from my computer instead of my phone if I want to.

 

[Red Storm]

I don't use whatsapp. Does it do voice or video chat as well as text?

No it's a chat app. You can send videos or voice notes, but I already use Tango/Viber/Hangouts for video chatting.

I don't see people moving over to BBM in droves.

 

[WelshBloke]

Most of the young people in my country have a Blackberry and use BBM. I'm the hipster that doesn't. I also use Viber instead of Whatsapp. I have voice, video and can chat from my computer instead of my phone if I want to.

Yeah, I can see that as a weak link in the BBM plan. As far as I understand it there's no desktop program for any platform.

 

[WelshBloke]

No it's a chat app. You can send videos or voice notes, but I already use Tango/Viber/Hangouts for video chatting.

I don't see people moving over to BBM in droves.

You can see the attraction in one app that does voice, video and text across multiple platforms though yes?

 

[Red Storm]

Hangouts does technically, via Gmail in your browser. Actually works really well, I was chatting with a friend and logged into my inbox on the desktop to send an email, his next message popped up on my desktop monitor and my phone didn't annoy me with a double notification.

You can see the attraction in one app that does voice, video and text across multiple platforms though yes?

Sure, but not one from Blackberry. I don't see a majority of users migrating over to it, and when it comes to messaging apps it's not the features that drive downloads, it's what your friends are using.

 

[WelshBloke]

Hangouts does technically, via Gmail in your browser. Actually works really well, I was chatting with a friend and logged into my inbox on the desktop to send an email, his next message popped up on my desktop monitor and my phone didn't annoy me with a double notification.

Hangouts works OK for me apart from the fact that most people don't know it exists and it doesnt do voice chat.

Sure, but not one from Blackberry. I don't see a majority of users migrating over to it, and when it comes to messaging apps it's not the features that drive downloads, it's what your friends are using.

What difference does it make who makes it? If its a good app with good support (and BlackBerry have an excellent track record with BBM) why would it being made by BlackBerry put you off?

 

[drbrock]

Hangout FTW. Like it far better than whatsapp. Plus I can use it on my desktop at work. BBM was cool when using a blackberry but their time has passed.

 

[Red Storm]

What difference does it make who makes it? If its a good app with good support (and BlackBerry have an excellent track record with BBM) why would it being made by BlackBerry put you off?

Well to clarify there's probably only 2 companies that I believe could push out a new chat service and have lots of people use it in a short period of time: Google and Apple. Whatsapp is very popular all over the world, and I just don't see people leaving the established players en mass for BBM.

 

[ChronoReverse]

I don't know anyone who still uses BBM. Even the old Blackberry aficionados have all finally picked up Androids in the past year or two.

 

[Anubis]

i dont know a single person who uses anything other then standard text messaging. i tried to get them to use whatsapp but that didnt happen

 

[WelshBloke]

Well to clarify there's probably only 2 companies that I believe could push out a new chat service and have lots of people use it in a short period of time: Google and Apple. Whatsapp is very popular all over the world, and I just don't see people leaving the established players en mass for BBM.

I dunno, even with no one buying BB devices theres still something like 60 million active BBM users, and theres probably double that that have given up BBM just because it isn't available on the device of their choice.

I can't see Apple ever making anything decent cross platform so that kindoff takes them out of the running and Google are fantastic at half arsing projects. If Google had tied hangouts more tightly into Android and automatically signed everyone into it with their Google ID when they first set up their phone they might of had a better chance, as it is n ah heck uses it .
Microsoft could probably done it if all the different departments in Microsoft didn't hate each other as well.

As it is I really wouldn't be surprised to see BBM take off again. What I don't see it doing is saving BB or making people buy BB's again.

 

[cbrunny]

<-- Canada. Actually nearby Waterloo, and RIM is still big market share in my area, especially with my friends. I see more Blackberries than all other phones combined. I'll be getting the Android version of BBM on Saturday.

 

[lupi]

I have had Bb for about 6 years now, never used BBM.

 

[trmiv]

I don't know anyone with a blackberry. All my friends and relatives either use hangouts or text

 

[ImDonly1]

I don't know a single person that uses a BlackBerry, let alone BBM. So no I won't be trying it.

This.

Unlimited texting, group messaging, and hangouts is all I use.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I dunno, even with no one buying BB devices theres still something like 60 million active BBM users, and theres probably double that that have given up BBM just because it isn't available on the device of their choice.

I can't see Apple ever making anything decent cross platform so that kindoff takes them out of the running and Google are fantastic at half arsing projects. If Google had tied hangouts more tightly into Android and automatically signed everyone into it with their Google ID when they first set up their phone they might of had a better chance, as it is n ah heck uses it .
Microsoft could probably done it if all the different departments in Microsoft didn't hate each other as well.

As it is I really wouldn't be surprised to see BBM take off again. What I don't see it doing is saving BB or making people buy BB's again.

The thing is even if BBM is a better product than Whatsapp, Line, etc. the question is why would everyone switch? I'm not sure what caused the trend of messaging to switch from AIM to Gchat in the latter half of last decade, but it happened. You need some sort of force to cause that shift from Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, etc to BBM.

Yes, you point that 60 million BB users exist, but do you think they have been living under a rock and just talking amongst themselves? Likely they're already on one of the modern chat protocols to talk with their friends. There's no reason for Android or iOS users to even jump over. Furthermore, it's 2013, and the US is barely catching onto Whatsapp. It took 4 years. In these 4 years there wasn't even a mobile messenger that really could match Whatsapp and it still took so long. I don't see how BBM could catch on that quickly in the US.

What I'm saying is that BBM may be a winning product, but it's like HTC making a great phone, the HTC One. It's too little, too late. Samsung already has such huge momentum, people naturally gravitate to the GS4 even if TouchWiz is trash or the build quality isn't better than HTC. People already made up their minds. You need a pretty damn compelling reason to get people onto BBM, and I just don't see it. So while you're right it MAY take off, those are some pretty bad odds if you were a betting man.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I mostly use Skype. As others mention, BBM feels like it's a few years too late. That should be Blackberry's motto.

 

[Graze]

Most of the young people in my country have a Blackberry and use BBM. I'm the hipster that doesn't. I also use Viber instead of Whatsapp. I have voice, video and can chat from my computer instead of my phone if I want to.

Sounds like you live in a shitty third world banana republic of a country. Cool me too kind of.
The poor people here are however starting to acquire truly smartphones and even those with Blackberries use Whatsapp.
I dont feel the need to get BBM. I don't like fraternizing with people below my socioeconomic status anyway.



You've been warned about profanity in the tech forum before.

Also there in no reason to insult another person's country, no matter where they are from.


esquared
Anandtech Forum Director