It has been a long time coming, but BlackBerry Messenger for Android will soon become a reality. BlackBerry has begun internal testing of the BBM app for Android, according to an email invite sent to a few folks who registered with BlackBerry’s Beta Zone.
The invite explains that members of the Beta Zone should have a smartphone that runs on at least Android 4.0 in order to be able to test the cross-platform BlackBerry Messenger for Android.
“We invited our employees to nominate friends and family to participate in a limited Android beta. Those slots are now full,” BlackBerry explains in an official statement. The company encourages interested consumers to check out its BBM Web page and join its mailing list to be among the first to know when the Android and iOS versions of BlackBerry Messenger will be released.
Having a cross-platform version of BlackBerry Messenger is a good way for the company to reclaim its lost consumers. BlackBerry Messenger is arguably one of the factors why BlackBerry gained popularity in some markets. However, BBM users see their contacts getting shorter and shorter as their friends shift to Android and iOS, leaving BBM in the process.
For an application that remains exclusively availablle to BlackBerry, BBM also has no match to similar messaging apps that allow users to send voice and text messages even when they are using different platforms.
BlackBerry has once said that BlackBerry Messenger for Android and iOS will have their global launch this summer. Judging by this news, we may have to wait a little longer.
Source: BlackBerry OS
Image source: Android Zone, BlackBerryOS.com
