BBM for Android and iOS launch expected this week; installation file leaks

The much anticipated cross-platform avatar of BlackBerry Messenger or BBM is soon expected to appear on Android devices and iPhones, with the company hosting events in Malaysia and India on September 18th, where it's expected to offer more details about the service including its launch date.
 
In the meanwhile, it seemed as if the person behind Samsung Mobile Nigeria's official Twitter account jumped the gun and announced that BBM would debut on Friday, September 20th and confirmed that it would be exclusively available on Samsung devices for three months, in response to a user's tweet.
 
However, BlackBerry has denied that the service would be exclusive to Samsung customers. The company issued a statement to CrackBerry that quoted Victoria Berry, BBM Communications Director at BlackBerry as saying, "The excitement around the upcoming BBM launch on iPhone and Android devices seems to know no bounds. Although I'm a big fan of this passion, I want to clarify that no one will have an exclusive on offering BBM. We'll be bringing the app to Android and iPhone users across the globe soon." 

Earlier, Samsung had announced that the messenger would be available on the company's app storethat comes preloaded on its Galaxy series of Android devices, and on the Google Play Store, across the African continent. Samsung had also agreed to join marketing efforts to showcase BBM for Android to customers and to mobile users across Africa.

 Incidentally the installation file (APK) for BBM's Android version has also leaked on several forums. However, it's being reported that the app doesn't work unless the user's BlackBerry ID is whitelisted by BlackBerry. It's worth pointing out that BlackBerry had invited a small set of users who'd registered with BlackBerry Beta Zone to try out the Beta version of the cross-platform BBM app on their Android device before the app was released to the public.  
 
Previously, Alex Kinsella of BlackBerry had posted on Twitter that BBM for iPhone had already been submitted for Apple's App Store approval. 
 
Landing pages for BBM for iPhone and Android had also appeared accidentally and pulled later.
 
BlackBerry had announced plans to extend BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to Android and iOS in May. 
 
Presently, BlackBerry Messenger or BBM allows BlackBerry users to seamlessly exchange texts, audio, videos and pictures with each other. However, a number of cross-platform mobile messaging apps including WhatsApp, WeChat and Line have taken over as preferred choices since they are available on a variety of platforms. When it comes to the iPhone, BBM would also compete with Apple's own iMessage platform that allows users who own Apple devices to send each other free messages over a data connection. 

BlackBerry landing page featuring BBM for iPhone and Android spotted online

BlackBerry has been working on bringing its popular messaging service, BlackBerry Messenger, to the iOS and Android platforms for a while now. The cross platform version of the messaging service was expected to be rolled out by summer and it appears that we're finally close to its launch.

Recently, a landing page dedicated to BBM surfaced on the official site of the company, claiming that the BBM service has arrived for both, Android and Apple platforms. The dedicated page for the service said, "BBM for Android and iPhone is here."

However, the landing page was pulled later and has been replaced with a launch page that says, "BBM is coming to Android and iPhone" and includes an option to get notified when the service launches through an email prompt.

Engadget notes that, the BBM service landing page hinted that the service is just about ready to be launched and the page can reappear anytime. It is worth pointing out that the landing page that has now been removed showed iPhone instead of iOS, which hints that the BBM service may be rolled out to iPhone users initially and an iPad app might not be in the works.

Earlier, BlackBerry Messenger for Android was spotted online with some users reportedly receiving invites for the same. The report claimed that BBM for Android would be rolled out in the not-too-distant future. A screenshot revealed that users would be able to sign-in to BlackBerry Messenger with their BlackBerry ID.

In a recent development, Samsung had announced that the BBM app would be available on the company's app store, preloaded on the Galaxy series of Android devices, and on the Google Play Store, across the African continent.

BlackBerry Messenger for Android spotted online, some users reportedly getting invites

BlackBerry had earlier announced that it will extend its popular messaging service BlackBerry Messenger, lovingly abbreviated as BBM, to Android and iOS platforms by summer.

While we're not sure if many are holding their breath for the service to cross over to other mobile platforms, the first signs of its move have now surfaced online.

After a false alarm following a tweet that predicted a June 27 launch for the app, BGR has nowmanaged to get its hands on an Android phone running the app. The site has only posted a shot of the app's splash screen, saying that going any further would reveal the identity of the source. It has mentioned that "the software 'isn't bad' and should be released in the not-too-distant future." The screen reveals that users would be able to sign-in to BlackBerry Messenger with their BlackBerry IDs.

Interestingly, BlackBerry has also invited a small set of users who're registered with BlackBerry Beta Zone to try out the Beta version of the cross-platform BBM app on their Android device before the app is released to the public. The development was reported first by BlackBerryOS.com which also published a screenshot of an email inviting a user to sign-up for the BBM Beta program. It does suggest that BBM for Android will run on devices running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or higher versions of the OS.

BlackBerry had announced plans to extend BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to Android and iOS in May. 

BBM allows BlackBerry users to seamlessly exchange texts, audio, videos and pictures with each other. However, a number of cross-platform mobile messaging apps including WhatsApp, WeChat and Line have taken over as preferred choices since they are available on a variety of platforms.