“BBM is by far the most compelling wireless experience and wireless social-networking environment,” Lazaridis, who stepped down as co-chief executive officer in early 2012, said yesterday at the Bloomberg Canada Economic Summit in Toronto.

The decision by current CEO Thorsten Heins to turn the messaging service into a stand-alone application shows that the new BlackBerry 10 platform is thriving and can lure users without the exclusivity of BBM, Lazaridis said.

“He’s speaking to the confidence he has in the platform,” Lazaridis said. “Not only is BlackBerry back in a big way with BB10, he’s also showing he can expand that vision to other platforms.”

Via: Bloomberg

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Introducing BBM Channels, the new social engagement platform within BBM™. With the social landscape constantly changing, BlackBerry® is making it easier to discover and connect to the brands, artists, people and communities you love in real time within BBM. Discovering compelling channels is as easy as scanning a QR code, searching for a channel, entering a channel PIN or browsing the featured channels carousel.
Subscribe to your preferred channels and stay up to date on your favorite things with instant and relevant updates. You receive notifications when new posts are available and can choose how you’d like to be notified. Participate in the experience by commenting, liking and sharing with your BBM friends. With 1-to-1 chat, you can create a direct and private dialog with the brands you love.
You can also create your own channel to broadcast with the immediacy and reliability of BBM. Easily create, edit and publish in an instant. Build an intimate and loyal following through precisely targeted posts and 1-to-1 chats, and monitor and measure all the interactions in your channel. BBM Channels. Tune in and share.

Sign up to try BBM™ Channels for free at http://blackberry.com/bbm/channels.

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How do you feel about BBM going cross-platform? Let us know in the comments!

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After Lewis, BlackBerry also interviewed Nick Fry who is a member of the team too. His interview was about “synergies between the BlackBerry and MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS brands and how to manage a large team in mission critical operation.”

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Source:Inside BB

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BBM BlackBerry Messenger is the best mobile messaging application available. BBM has been for the longest what maintains the link between BlackBerry users togetherness. Now today, BlackBerry has announced that no longer will BBM will exclusively be available for BlackBerry. BlackBerry Messenger BBM will now be a cross-platform application available for iOS and Android devices with the following BBM features included:

• The immediacy of BBM chats
• Multi-person chats
• Voice note sharing
• BlackBerry Groups, where BBM users are able to set up groups of up to 30 people and share calendar, photos, files and more

BBM for iOS and Android to Launch This Summer

WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – May 14, 2013) - BlackBerry® (NASDAQ:BBRY)(TSX:BB) today announced plans to make its ground-breaking mobile social network, BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™), available to iOS® and Android™ users this summer, with support planned for iOS6, and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher, all subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play. BBM sets the standard for mobile instant messaging with a fast, reliable, engaging experience that includes delivered and read statuses, and personalized profiles and avatars. Upon release, BBM customers would be able to broaden their connections to include friends, family and colleagues on other mobile platforms.

In the planned initial release, iOS and Android users would be able to experience the immediacy of BBM chats, including multi-person chats, as well as the ability to share photos and voice notes, and engage in BBM Groups, which allows BBM customers to create groups of up to 30 people.

“For BlackBerry, messaging and collaboration are inseparable from the mobile experience, and the time is definitely right for BBM to become a multi-platform mobile service. BBM has always been one of the most engaging services for BlackBerry customers, enabling them to easily connect while maintaining a valued level of personal privacy. We’re excited to offer iOS and Android users the possibility to join the BBM community,” said Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President, Software Product Management and Ecosystem, at BlackBerry.

BBM is loved by customers for its “D” and “R” statuses, which show up in chats to let people know with certainty that their message has been delivered and read. It provides customers with a high level of control and privacy over who they add to their contact list and how they engage with them, as invites are two-way opt-in. iOS and Android users would be able to add their contacts through PIN, email, SMS or QR code scan, regardless of platform. Android users would also be able to connect using a compatible NFC-capable device.

BBM has more than 60 million monthly active customers, with more than 51 million people using BBM an average of 90 minutes per day. BBM customers collectively send and receive more than 10 billion messages each day, nearly twice as many messages per user per day as compared to other mobile messaging apps. Almost half of BBM messages are read within 20 seconds of being received; indicating how truly engaged BBM customers are.

Today, BlackBerry also announced BBM Channels, a new social engagement platform within BBM that will allow customers to connect with the businesses, brands, celebrities and groups they are passionate about. BlackBerry plans to add support for BBM Channels as well as voice and video chatting for iOS and Android later this year, subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play.

If approved by Apple and Google, the BBM app will be available as a free download in the Apple® App Store(SM) and Google Play store. Additional details about system requirements and availability will be announced closer to the launch.

About BlackBerry

A global leader in wireless innovation, BlackBerry® revolutionized the mobile industry when it was introduced in 1999. Today, BlackBerry aims to inspire the success of our millions of customers around the world by continuously pushing the boundaries of mobile experiences. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. BlackBerry is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ:BBRY) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:BB). For more information, visit www.blackberry.com.

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used herein, words such as “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “intend”, “believe”, and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by Research In Motion Limited (BlackBerry) in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that BlackBerry believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Many factors could cause BlackBerry’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including those described in the “Risk Factors” section of BlackBerry’s Annual Information Form, which is included in its Annual Report on Form 40-F (copies of which filings may be obtained at www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov). These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on BlackBerry’s forward-looking statements. BlackBerry has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

BlackBerry and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of Research In Motion Limited and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services.

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Top BBM Channels Features:

• Create a channel – Create, edit and publish in an instant, and there are no limits to the number of followers you can have in your channel. Securely manage your channel from either a BlackBerry smartphone or the web.
• Discover channels – BBM Channels includes a carousel that lets you discover new channels. You can share channel invites within a BBM chat, and people can be added or invited using the channel’s PIN or QR code.
• View – View profiles for each BBM Channel you choose to follow.
• Subscribe – Subscribing to a channel allows the channel owner to send you timely and relevant updates, giving the subscriber instant access to your news, deals, events or whatever you want to communicate. Subscribers can choose to receive notifications when new posts are available.
• Participate – Participate and engage in conversations with your favorite people or communities by “Commenting” and “Liking” posts from channels you subscribe to. Channel owners have the option to directly chat one-on-one with a subscriber.
• Monitor engagement – Easily use built-in measuring tools to assess and monitor follower engagement and interaction

Head on over to the BlackBerry Beta Zone to download BBM Channels

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From the video that BlackBerry posted it looks like the handwriting input works flawlessly, and hopefully we will see this feature be made available to other regions. We are expecting to see some surprises in the 10.1 update, and maybe some more input recognition features will be among them.

Let us know what you think of this handwriting feature in the comments below.

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I have been having some major issues with BBM Video not showing up on other BlackBerry Z10′s (this seems to be isolated to me), but this morning I received a BBM from @fortneyland95 asking me if I could see his green video chat icon in the upper right hand corner. My answer was simple “nope”‘ can you see mine I asked, he to replied no..

So after talking to him I went on a search through my BBM contacts  looking at those I know have a Z10 or Q10 and all of the video chat icons are gone… At this time it does not appear to be carrier related as it is happening to people on Verizon and T-Mobile. It very well could be a server issue at BlackBerry.

We are still researching this matter, but if you have or know anyone that may have a resolution or answer as to why this is happening feel free to let us know in the comments.

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Way back in 2011 BlackBerry launched BBM Music, BBM Music let BBM users share their music collection socially! With BBM Music, you can create a music profile of your favorite songs that all your BBM Music friends can listen to – and in return you can enjoy all of your friends’ profile selections. That means the more friends you have, the more music you can enjoy! You can listen to full tracks, create playlists, have conversations about music, and even listen to music offline. Currently BlackBerry will be shutting down BBM Music effective June 2nd 2013. Hit the break for more.

“BBMT Music service will be discontinued as of June 2, 2013*. For paying customers, April is the last month that you will be billed. In May, as your BBM contacts stop using the service, songs in your playlists will begin to turn grey and will no longer be available.

Though BBM Music is going away, you can still listen to great music on your BlackBerry. We’re giving you a 30-day pass to Rdio, which gives you unlimited, on-demand access to more than 18 million songs, including the latest hits and classic albums.”

If you are using BBM Music we would like to hear your thoughts on the cancellation of the service in the comments!

Source: BlackBerry BBM Music

Via: MobileSyrup

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For quite sometime now it has been rumored that BlackBerry 10 would bring some sort of theme in to the device, well the above screen shot shows off the BBM Dark theme on the BlackBerry Dev Alpha C. Well the reson we do not have the Dark them for the BlackBerry Z10 is simple. The Z10 uses a regular LCD whereas the BlackBerry Dev Alpha C and BlackBerry Q10 will be using an OLED display.

With the dark theme you will be able to save some battery life as dark images do not require a tom of juice on the OLED displays. I ma digging the dark them for BBM, hopefully BlackBerry will at some point offer it to the Z10 users (probably not..).. Let us know what you think about the dark theme in the comments.

Via: N4BB

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