Even if smartphones don't work out for BlackBerry, the company still has a popular product in its BlackBerry Messenger, which is being released for the first time outside of BlackBerry's lonely walled garden on Saturday for Android and Sunday for iOS devices.
BlackBerry, the still-struggling smartphone company, which tried to re-launch and renew itself this year with the BlackBerry 10 operating system and two new, modern smartphones, still has a hit in BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).
The messaging service, according to BlackBerry's own numbers, continues to support 60 million avid users.
Also according to BlackBerry's numbers (via CNET), about 2.5 million people are already pre-registered to download BBM at the moment that it's ready for download on either iOS or Android.
BBM offers real-time confirmations of when messages are delivered and read, and allows you to share music, send photos, and videos with multiple contacts at once. It also features free calls over WiFi, including video chats, and has a fluid interface that helps you keep track of multiple conversations at once.
Even though some messaging apps are already dominant in the Android and iOS market - startup WhatsApp has a purported 300 million monthly active users, for example - expanding BBM is probably BlackBerry's best bet as a struggling company.
Earlier in September, the Wall Street Journal reported, from an anonymous source inside the BlackBerry camp, that the company was in such dire straits that it was considering accepting offers for sale. In a move to position itself towards that, BlackBerry is reportedly considering spinning off one of its only successful aspects - BlackBerry Messenger - into a subsidiary.
BlackBerry now offers four current smartphones, though its first two offerings have not had the kind of sales it was hoping for. The newest phone, the BlackBerry Z30, was unveiled just recently to damning faint praise.
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