At long last, Blackberry Messenger has arrived for Android and iOS. After the unsuccessful attempt to launch last September, Blackberry now seems ready to go ahead with a second launch. However, with Blackberry’s recent issues, will this do more harm or good given that one of the reasons people still buy Blackberry is because of BBM?
In launching this cross-platform app, Blackberry could lose the only selling point it has left to compete. On one hand, this opens up BBM to non-Blackberry users and spreads Blackberry’s presence across a wider scale. However, now that Blackberry has lost the exclusivity of BBM on their devices, there seems to be less reason for people to continue purchasing Blackberry smartphones if they can get the same service on a competitor’s smartphone.
Blackberry’s launch has also had several technical issues. As said in an article by PocketNow, Blackberry is using a waitlist system to stagger the people signing up. Given that other developers seem to be able to mass launch without much difficulty, it is of concern that Blackberry is unable to do so with the same efficiency and raises further issues about their ability to keep up with today’s technological needs.
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