BBM iOS and Android Releases Paused

Though the software teams at BlackBerry suggested they’d be beginning the roll-out of BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) as an app for Android and iOS starting this week, it would now appear that they’ve hit the proverbial pause button for both platforms.

While it’s unclear at the moment if this cut in downloads and service to the chat app ecosystem for both Google and Apple’s mobile OS had anything to do with BlackBerry’s announcement of history-making losses for the quarter, it is clear that the results are thus: some people can use BBM today, others cannot.

Straight from Inside BlackBerry’s Luke Reimer comes word that some issues have arisen for both the Android and iOS versions of BBM. First, it would seem that the BBM app for Android was never officially released, but the BBM team saw a whopping 1.1 million active users in the first 8 hours of app release.

The BBM user numbers BlackBerry speaks of here come from an unofficial “unreleased version of the BBM for Android app” which was posted online before it could hit Google Play. BlackBerry is being iffy on how this app saw the light of day, but are now addressing “issues” that appeared when this so-called “unreleased” version began to spread. Unlucky you, Android users: BlackBerry has begun disabling this first app – no matter how legitimate it may seem – and the real version’s release date is again in flux.

And the iOS version of BBM? There’ve been some oddities in that release as well. Though some users in places like the iTunes app store for New Zealand were able to download the real-deal iOS version of BBM for iPhone, downloads have been stopped worldwide. The good news for iOS users that did access this app early is that they’ll be able to continue using it (for the time being).

“As soon as we are able, we will begin a staggered country roll-out of BBM for Android and continue the roll-out of BBM for iPhone. … These issues have not impacted BBM service for BlackBerry.” – Luke Reimer, BlackBerry

No worries if you’re working with a real BlackBerry smartphone and have BBM kicking out the messages like normal – service will continue as planned. The “global roll-out of BBM for Android and iPhone”, on the other hand, is hereby paused.