Alex Kinsella, social media and public relations manager for BlackBerry, did not respond to a request for comment regarding a release date for an Android version of BBM. A BBM can be up to 2,000 characters in length, as opposed to the 160-character limit imposed on standard texts.
Just in case we forgot to mention, BBM for iPhone was submitted for review 2 wks ago. #waiting #BBM4ALL
— Alex Kinsella (@alexkinsella) September 6, 2013
BlackBerry's shares rose more than 6 percent on Monday following a report from the Wall Street Journal that the company was whittling down a list of potential buyers for an acquisition by November. An earlier report said BlackBerry was considering spinning off its BBM service into a separate entity, and that the company was also considering a desktop client. BBM is a popular communication form worldwide, especially in South Africa, where it is the most popular smartphone brand.
A video showcasing a beta version of BBM for Android leaked online earlier this month. International interest in the cross-platform version of BBM is high, as a bogus version of the unreleased Android app delivered adware to more than 100,000 people who unwittingly downloaded it through the Google Play Store before it was taken down.
A recent report states that there are more than 10 million WhatsApp subscribers in South Africa alone. The new cross-platform BBM service will also compete with Tencent's WeChat, which is already more popular than Twitter, Skype and Instagram.
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