BBM for Android Coming This Friday? - Indiatimes.com ~ Electronic Gadgets

Oh yes, we were waiting for this! And how! Looks like the wait is finally about to end and BBM's Android debut is just a few days away.

blackberry z10

If a well-timed Tweet by Samsung Mobile Nigeria is to be believed, BBM for Android will launch on September 20, that is this Friday. BlackBerry announced their plan to launch BBM for Android and iOS platforms earlier this year along with the announcement for BlackBerry Z10 and Q10. Recently, we even saw a few leaks of the BBM Android Beta version, making us believe that the service is not very far off. This recent announcement by Samsung has definitely raised hopes up!

The Beta version leaked on YouTube shows BBM just for Android and clearly, we now know why! The video shows us the Beta version on an HTC device. The BBM for Android interface is similar to the BBM on BlackBerry Z10. The look is completely different from the existing messenger apps in the market and is sure to add some excitement.

Positioned at the bottom of the screen are the tabs for Chats. Contacts and Groups. On opening the main window, you are taken directly to the landing page with all your chats. Swiping to the left opens the settings tab and other options like sending a broadcast message, create a new group, etc. On the other hand, swiping to the right opens up the invites, groups, updates, etc.

The contact layout is pretty cool for Android users as instead of the usual dropdown list with names, users get to see it in a photo-gallery format with the contact name and the image. While the format looks relatively new for Android users, the layout is the standard BBM layout. The layout is the same for groups with the group icon and the name set together in the grid view.

But, we would still advice you to take the news with a pinch of salt. While the tweet definitely brings some good news, it raises more questions than answers queries. It is still not clear if BBM for Android will debut just in Nigeria on 20th September as the tweet has been released by Samsung Nigeria.

Also, Samsung announcing the same once again makes us wary. According to the extended conversation, the service will initially be exclusive for just Samsung phones. Seeing the chumminess between these two, we wonder if Samsung-BB is the next deal on the cards...

However, if true, it will be a huge disappointment for non-Samsung fanboys as everyone has been waiting with a bated breath... Z30 and BBM for Android. Looks like BlackBerry is getting back in the game!

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