[fsy82]

BlackBerry to open BBM up to other devices | Globalnews.ca (http://globalnews.ca/news/559617/blackberry-to-open-bbm-up-to-other-devices/)

ORLANDO, Fla. – BlackBerry announced an expansion of its popular BlackBerry Messenger service to iPhones and Android devices this summer and a new smartphone aimed at emerging markets as it kicked off its annual technology conference Tuesday.

Chief executive Thorsten Heins said the time was right for BBM, a key feature of BlackBerry smartphones, to be available on Apple’s iOS and Google Android devices.

“BBM actually was a key element of (why) people were going to BlackBerry,” he said after the unveiling of the smartphone maker’s plans in a keynote address to the three-day BlackBerry Live conference.

“We feel this platform and its product are standing on its own legs. That is the time to release BBM to another level and really let BBM flourish on its own.”

The move is a gamble for the company which has many loyal users who have stuck with their BlackBerry devices just to keep access to BBM. But the messaging service has run into competition from other similar options like WhatsApp and Waterloo, Ont.-based Kik Messenger, both which are available on BlackBerry and other phones.

BBM offers a more seamless and secure experience that includes video chat, an option that many of its competitors don’t offer yet. The iPhone and Android version of the application, which will be available for free, will start with text messaging and then roll out other features including video and channels, Heins said.

BlackBerry (TSX:BB) has been on a roll in recent months, launching its first new smartphone products in several years with the BlackBerry 10 slate of both touchscreen and physical keyboard models.

The BlackBerry Q5, which was announced Tuesday, will sport a physical keyboard and a 3.1-inch screen. It will be available in several colours including red, black, white and pink in selected markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America starting in July.

The phone will not be released in North America for now, and its expected selling price wasn’t revealed.

Heins has said he wants Blackberry to create a portfolio of smartphones that expands beyond the higher priced models into both a mid-priced and entry level version of the device.

“We’re happy to provide the devices and the experience that our customers need from us at various price points, and that varies across countries,” he told the audience of thousands of tech industry players, analysts and media.

The head of BlackBerry traded the humility he exuded at the conference last year for a higher level of assuredness. While not all of its critics have been won over, BlackBerry has come a long way from when it was still struggling to get a new phone on the market and questions swirled about whether it would sell its operations to a competitor.

“Some people told me last year would be the last conference for BlackBerry and it would be my first and last time to stand on this stage,” he said.

“I’m happy to say they were wrong.”

BlackBerry still has a formidable battle on its hands though, with the Samsung Galaxy phone series gaining traction and a new iPhone expected later this year.

Sales numbers for the new BlackBerrys have been slowly trickling out from Canada and the U.K., though figures from the U.S. will not be made public until the company reports its quarterly earnings in late June.

In the meantime, some of the most popular apps remain missing from the new BlackBerry operating system, including Netflix and Instagram, but after years of neglect Heins says there has been progress in bringing more app developers on side.

The BlackBerry World store now offers more than 120,000 apps, up from 70,000 on Jan. 30, he said.

Heins also announced Skype and synthesizer maker Moog would be launching apps for the new phones.

Whether the new BlackBerry devices will be considered a success still remains to be seen, though Heins seems prepared to take any criticism that might come his way.

“You will always have people that are kind of, let me say, in a very limited view. Like: ‘When are you going to take on Apple?’” he said.

“That’s not the way I’m thinking about this.”

Heins wants BlackBerry products to etch their own segment of the market, rather than be a “me too” device.

“The point is, this market is going to be so big that it’s going to support several players. The question is … where are you playing?” he said.

While the Z10 touchscreen model has been on sale in the U.S. since March, it’s popular Q10 physical keyboard will arrive in stores early June.

Shares in the company closed down 49 cents or about three per cent at $15.55 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

[Hondaracer]

Everyone I knew who was all about BB is now on iPhone using iChat, a little late there BB
Posted via RS Mobile

[BBMme]

It's never too late. People like myself use a BlackBerry because we want to. Now I will have more then 5 bbm contacts haha
Posted via RS Mobile

[eurochevy]

no one gives a crap about bbm anymore once imessage came out and facebook chat and everything, unless you're a diehard BB person its a desperate play by a desperate company

[Iceman_2K]

wechat, whatsapp and all the other messaging services run rings around bbm.

[Teriyaki]

It's a little late to grow revenue from sharing BBM now.

However, this should help them retain market share from those that felt isolated in blackberry products, they might continue to use their bbs now that their friends and Co workers can access BBM as well.

[Purely]

Way too late to open BBM to other devices now imo. People (including BB users) have made the switch to use Whatsapp, Line, Wechat, etc, why switch back?

[E.D.C.5]

I'm still a BB user and is about to make the switch...to android.

[knight604]

The good thing about BBM is that it has been around for so long and it is so well developed as it is (for now) exclusive to Blackberry.

If you think about all the other cross platforms, they are complete garbage.

Blackberry was building their program with practically unlimited resources as it was striving in the past.

And to say that BBM is beneath whatsapp/imessage/facebookchat etc is just stupid.

Once it comes cross platform , i guarantee that you will download it because i know for a fact that you use more than one cross platforms.

People still miss bbm because it was that one thing keeping them around before they made the switch.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with BBM and when it comes cross platform , watch your list fill up because it will destroy all of its competitors.

[!MiKrofT]

BBM destroy all competitors? Please. No one I know still owns a blackberry. Sure there are still users but that has dropped drastically since its prime. I for one guarantee I will not install it.

[Hondaracer]

Like I said, I don't know -anyone- with a BB anymore and I have a fairly large group of acquaintances/friends I see on a regular basis

Our company all switched over to iPhones (albeit only 30 employees)

So kinda hard for BB to take over anything when they don't even have a hold on the market anymore.
Posted via RS Mobile

[TOPEC]

the only way ppl wil switch to BBM is if it offers a feature that cant be found anywhere else, other wise, what is the point in switching to bbm?

[!MiKrofT]

Like I said, I don't know -anyone- with a BB anymore and I have a fairly large group of acquaintances/friends I see on a regular basis

Our company all switched over to iPhones (albeit only 30 employees)

So kinda hard for BB to take over anything when they don't even have a hold on the market anymore.
Posted via RS Mobile
My company did the same. We probably have in excess of 200+ iphones

[dinamix]

blackberry/BBM is still popular around the world . They don't give a fuck if people in north america are switching to iPhones or androids .

[Ikkaku]

^ okay there, buddy.

[BBMme]

we can say what we want.
I will wait when it comes out.
I still remember not too long ago people were saying BlackBerry will either be bought out or bankrupt.

[BBMme]

but they convinced a company like Canadian Tire to stay with BlackBerry =p

[GLOW]

is BBM the only one with the feature that shows if the receipient of the message read it? whatsapp only shows if the message has been delivered.

[!MiKrofT]

Line messenger shows if it's been read.

[snails]

^ the only people concerned if people read their messages are girls who eventually talk shit about other girls for not replying after reading it, or boys who like a girl and get super jealous and upset when their messages are read and not replied too.. probably easier to just surround yourself with people that will actually reply to your messages than sit their checking if they read it or not.

one of my ex's would talk to much shit about how some people read and not reply, it got pretty bad sometimes.. it seems to be the only good feature of the app... and it just causes more problems.

and a friend of mine used to bitch endlessly that his girl would read his messaged and take a while to reply.. more trouble than its worth.

[FerrariEnzo]

is BBM the only one with the feature that shows if the receipient of the message read it? whatsapp only shows if the message has been delivered.
wrong, Whatsapp (not group chat) will have 2 check marks.. first one is being delivered to server, second is being delivered to other end (doesnt mean they read it, just that it sent to other device)

[willystyle]

is BBM the only one with the feature that shows if the receipient of the message read it? whatsapp only shows if the message has been delivered.
Kakaotalk, LINE, Whatsapp (Private Chat), Kik. Off the top of my head.

I'd like to note that the Android and iOS version WILL NOT have BBM VIDEO and CALL features upon release, unlike their Blackberry counterpart.

I'd be very very surprised if BBM "light" picks up in market share.

[rsx]

even Viber is a pretty good messaging app with an excellent call feature (I talk to friends all over the world with this and it doesn't drop) BBM's move is a bit too late.

[DGN23]

Are the other texting apps encrypted? Because that sort of privacy is pretty valuable.

[underscore]

^ the only people concerned if people read their messages are girls who eventually talk shit about other girls for not replying after reading it, or boys who like a girl and get super jealous and upset when their messages are read and not replied too.. probably easier to just surround yourself with people that will actually reply to your messages than sit their checking if they read it or not.

one of my ex's would talk to much shit about how some people read and not reply, it got pretty bad sometimes.. it seems to be the only good feature of the app... and it just causes more problems.

and a friend of mine used to bitch endlessly that his girl would read his messaged and take a while to reply.. more trouble than its worth.

It's useful for business though. I can't imagine people using some of those other shitty apps for business purposes.

[Soundy]

http://heahea.org/img/200-Shoop_da_woop.jpg

[Hondaracer]

iMessage has a read receipt

There's also this thing called email which works pretty well in business communications
Posted via RS Mobile

[J____]

blackberry/BBM is still popular around the world . They don't give a fuck if people in north america are switching to iPhones or androids .

i'm pretty sure BB is predominantly north american. In China I see 1 in 10,000 people with smart phones own a BB. Same thing in europe too.

[MindBomber]

i'm pretty sure BB is predominantly north american. In China I see 1 in 10,000 people with smart phones own a BB. Same thing in europe too.

Dinamax was referring to India and South East Asia, which are BBRY's strongest markets.

[Happy]

wechat, whatsapp and all the other messaging services run rings around bbm.

Why is that? Last time I checked BBM is more secure than all those apps combined

[willystyle]

Why is that? Last time I checked BBM is more secure than all those apps combined
Whatsapp and Kakaotalk both have message encryption and have a much greater user base. Don't be fooled by the false sense of security that only Blackberry can provide message encryption.

WhatsApp FAQ - Are my messages secure? (http://www.whatsapp.com/faq/general/21864047)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KakaoTalk#Features

[knight604]

Reverse Engineering: How WhatsApp (not) securing your data - Pastebin.com (http://pastebin.com/g9UPuviz)

And of course whatsapp would say that their shit is secure , what company wouldn't?

[willystyle]

Reverse Engineering: How WhatsApp (not) securing your data - Pastebin.com (http://pastebin.com/g9UPuviz)

And of course whatsapp would say that their shit is secure , what company wouldn't?
Based on your perspective, I could say the same about Blackberry too, then.

Here is an article from an official news agency, and not an opinion from an average joe.

BlackBerry not as secure as believed, memo warns federal workers | canada.com (http://o.canada.com/2013/02/26/blackberry-not-as-secure-as-believed-memo-warns-federal-workers/#.US6YSaW-r4a)

[Happy]

Whatsapp and Kakaotalk both have message encryption and have a much greater user base. Don't be fooled by the false sense of security that only Blackberry can provide message encryption.

WhatsApp FAQ - Are my messages secure? (http://www.whatsapp.com/faq/general/21864047)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KakaoTalk#Features

WhatsApp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In May 2011, a security hole was reported in WhatsApp which left user accounts open for hijacking.[25] Since May 2011, it has been reported that communications made by WhatsApp are not encrypted, and data is sent and received in plaintext, meaning messages can easily be read if packet traces are available.[26]
According to some sources, it is believed that the hijacking hack was performed, and later fixed by helping WhatsApp reproduce it on Android and Symbian, by Liroy van Hoewijk, CEO of CoreISP.net.[27][28] Then, in May 2012 security researchers noted that new updates of WhatsApp no longer sent messages as plaintext,[29][30][31] however, the cryptographic method implemented was subsequently described as "broken".[32]
In September 2011, a new version of the WhatsApp Messenger application for iPhones was released. In this new version, the developer has closed a number of critical security holes that allowed forged messages to be sent and messages from any WhatsApp user to be read.[33]
On January 6, 2012, an unknown hacker published a website (WhatsAppStatus.net) which made it possible to change the status of an arbitrary WhatsApp user, as long as the phone number was known. To let it work, it only required a restart of the app. According to the hacker, it is only one of the many security issues in WhatsApp. On January 9, WhatsApp reported to have solved the issue. In reality, the only measure that was taken was blocking the website's IP address. As a reaction, a Windows tool was made available for download providing the same functionality. This issue has since been resolved in the form of an IP check on currently logged in session.[34][35]
On January 13, 2012, WhatsApp was pulled from the iOS App Store. The reason was not disclosed. The app was added back to the App Store four days later.[36]
Using WhatsAPI, German Tech site The H demonstrated how to hijack any WhatsApp account on September 14, 2012.[37] Shortly after a legal threat to WhatsAPI's developers was alleged, characterized by The H as "an apparent reaction" to security reports, and WhatsAPI's source code was taken down.[38] The WhatsAPI team has since returned to active development.[39]

Security hole that lets people hi-jack users accounts? Being pulled from the App store on apple because of lack of security?

I never knew bbm security was worse than that

[willystyle]

WhatsApp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhatsApp)

In May 2011, a security hole was reported in WhatsApp which left user accounts open for hijacking.[25] Since May 2011, it has been reported that communications made by WhatsApp are not encrypted, and data is sent and received in plaintext, meaning messages can easily be read if packet traces are available.[26]
According to some sources, it is believed that the hijacking hack was performed, and later fixed by helping WhatsApp reproduce it on Android and Symbian, by Liroy van Hoewijk, CEO of CoreISP.net.[27][28] Then, in May 2012 security researchers noted that new updates of WhatsApp no longer sent messages as plaintext,[29][30][31] however, the cryptographic method implemented was subsequently described as "broken".[32]
In September 2011, a new version of the WhatsApp Messenger application for iPhones was released. In this new version, the developer has closed a number of critical security holes that allowed forged messages to be sent and messages from any WhatsApp user to be read.[33]
On January 6, 2012, an unknown hacker published a website (WhatsAppStatus.net) which made it possible to change the status of an arbitrary WhatsApp user, as long as the phone number was known. To let it work, it only required a restart of the app. According to the hacker, it is only one of the many security issues in WhatsApp. On January 9, WhatsApp reported to have solved the issue. In reality, the only measure that was taken was blocking the website's IP address. As a reaction, a Windows tool was made available for download providing the same functionality. This issue has since been resolved in the form of an IP check on currently logged in session.[34][35]
On January 13, 2012, WhatsApp was pulled from the iOS App Store. The reason was not disclosed. The app was added back to the App Store four days later.[36]
Using WhatsAPI, German Tech site The H demonstrated how to hijack any WhatsApp account on September 14, 2012.[37] Shortly after a legal threat to WhatsAPI's developers was alleged, characterized by The H as "an apparent reaction" to security reports, and WhatsAPI's source code was taken down.[38] The WhatsAPI team has since returned to active development.[39]

Security hole that lets people hi-jack users accounts? Being pulled from the App store on apple because of lack of security?

I never knew bbm security was worse than that
This is like comparing apples to oranges. Blackberry will have as many security flaws as Whatsapp, if they had 200 million users, is widely available across multiple mobile platforms, and that hacker care to expose them. As we currently stand. Blackberry is ranked 4th worldwide (behind WP8) in market share, if you're a hacker, you won't care to target a small userbase.

This is like another PC vs Mac security debate. If BBM is as significant as other messengers (Whatsapp, Kakotalk), I am sure hackers will care enough to expose them. We will find out sooner or later whether BBM can withstand its claims.

The point that I am trying to make is that people were suggesting that Blackberry is the only player in the game with message encryption and I am just trying to say that there are others including Whatsapp that have that feature as well, and whether it has security vulnerabilities or not, is a whole other debate.

[knight604]

Based on your perspective, I could say the same about Blackberry too, then.

Here is an article from an official news agency, and not an opinion from an average joe.

BlackBerry not as secure as believed, memo warns federal workers | canada.com (http://o.canada.com/2013/02/26/blackberry-not-as-secure-as-believed-memo-warns-federal-workers/#.US6YSaW-r4a)

This article is seriously misleading. PIN to PIN communication has always been discouraged or banned outright by corporations because they are not as secure and not traceable. It has nothing to do to with the ultimate security of BlackBerry email and data, and the memo was simply warning employees on that point.

I hope you know companys with BES users ban their employees from using PIN to PIN and who the fuck even uses it?

I hope you inform yourself about BB before you try to trash it.

http://crackberry.com/pin-pin-messaging-secure

[E.D.C.5]

got my S4 today, couldn't handle my blackberry anymore.

:fuckyea:

[Happy]

This is like comparing apples to oranges. Blackberry will have as many security flaws as Whatsapp, if they had 200 million users, is widely available across multiple mobile platforms, and that hacker care to expose them. As we currently stand. Blackberry is ranked 4th worldwide (behind WP8) in market share, if you're a hacker, you won't care to target a small userbase.

We will find out sooner or later whether BBM can withstand its claims.

The point that I am trying to make is that people were suggesting that Blackberry is the only player in the game with message encryption and I am just trying to say that there are others including Whatsapp that have that feature as well, and whether it has security vulnerabilities or not, is a whole other debate.

1. That's just speculation. I'm talking as of now. BBM is much more secure than Whatsapp. It always was in the past, it still is in the present, but I won't deny that Whatsapp has a chance to take it in the future.

2. India is one of the world leaders in IT right now. There TONS of hackers from that country including TONS in the government. None of which could get into BBM messages. Blackberry knows what it's doing when it comes to security. The government led a full out attack against BBM and the end result was forcing RIM to give customer information.

3. I agree with you there. BBM is definitely not the only messaging app to go to when it comes to security. However given Whatsapp's security history, BBM is one of the leading apps when it comes to security.

Whatsapp and other messaging applications are great. I was just replying to this comment about Whatsapp running rings around BBM when really it doesn't at all...

wechat, whatsapp and all the other messaging services run rings around bbm.

[Anjew]

whatsapp is much more limited compared to BBM.... They are going to integrate calendars, email, document editor etc.... when that stand alone app comes out for ios and android it has potential to be my daily driver app.

[!MiKrofT]

Sure BBM has encrypted messaging. But honestly will consumers make a big fuss about it to make them switch? Doubt it.