Android and iPhone Rollout of BBM is Resumed by BlackBerry

A little over a month ago, I wrote that BlackBerry was going to clean up all of the bugs after beta testing and have BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) 10 available cross-platform for Android on September 21, followed immediately with the iPhone version the next day.

It turns out that both of these launches had to be aborted. Apparently, a leaked Android application package (APK) BBM file found its way to Android several hours before the official launch. This was cause for delaying the release of the cross-platform app.

It seems that about a million users jumped onboard in just seven hours to download the unreleased version. This, of course, caused BlackBerry to pull all versions of the app offline. In the meantime, it also appears that more than a million people found a way to side-load BBM on their iPhones.

I have written about quite a few obstacles and hurdles that BlackBerry has had to face recently, the latest being an open letter to explain to the world what is happening in the world of BlackBerry. So it is with some deal of satisfaction that in an official BlackBerry blog it was announced today that it would resume the rollout of BBM for Android and iPhone.

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The official rollout began Monday, October 21, on a global level. According to the BlackBerry blog, the free BBM apps should begin making an appearance in Google Play and Apple App Store, as well as in some Samsung App Stores.

BlackBerry has added an additional step in the use of the cross-platform BBM apps. In order to avoid the previously mentioned problems and make sure that this is a smooth rollout, you will need to get on a queue.

You will have to visit BBM.com from your phone’s browser. The first thing that you need to do is enter some information, mainly your email address. After you have done this you will be placed on the list. You will receive an email when your turn comes up. If you have previously signed up then you should be able to use the app right away.

The blog said, “If you are among the millions that took the time to sign up at BBM.com, you can start using BBM immediately without waiting in line. If you didn’t sign up in advance, don’t worry – we are focused on moving millions of customers through the line as fast as possible.”