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simplenation

macrumors member
Original poster
May 29, 2008
43
0
Hey guys. I know a BBM app for the iphone doesn't exist but i'm in search of an alternative. My girlfriend and i currently have blackberries and we constantly utilize bbm to stay connected. Anyone know of an app that would work on both platforms? I know there are chat clients for the iphone but im assuming i have to be in the app to get alerts of a new message.
 

Rat-Boy

macrumors 65816
Jul 28, 2008
1,184
15
Georgia
but im assuming i have to be in the app to get alerts of a new message.
Not any more you don't.

Push notifications fixe this problem.

I use BeeJive. Some prefer IM+. Both work fairly well and can be used with a Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, AIM, Google or Facebook account, among others.
 

simplenation

macrumors member
Original poster
May 29, 2008
43
0
Ok cool, My girlfriend would kill me if she could send me dozens of direct messages a day :rolleyes:. thx man!
 

CanadianMac2008

macrumors member
Apr 11, 2009
68
0
There have already been several threads about this in the iPhone forums so I'll try not to be repetitive.

But while Beejive is great, it is no substitute for BBM, in terms of comparable functionality. BBM is included on every Blackberry and only requires a data plan. With that, you can text for free, simply by knowing the person's PIN number. With Beejive, you must know the person's IM usernames and have the app installed on your phone. All the good push apps that use multiple types of IMs also cost money.

So yes, you would still get a message while out of the app, but it is not the same, or arguably as good as having BBM. A ton of Blackberry users know about the PIN while I have my doubts that many out of the millions of iPhone users have push IM apps.
 

t22design

macrumors regular
Nov 10, 2007
147
39
So yes, you would still get a message while out of the app, but it is not the same, or arguably as good as having BBM. A ton of Blackberry users know about the PIN while I have my doubts that many out of the millions of iPhone users have push IM apps.

And why do you think that is? Maybe it's because push IM apps have been around a matter of days.

How many people are aware of IM apps? A lot of people with computers have at least one of the IM accounts available. (Yahoo, AIM, MSN etc.)

It's going to take a little bit more time, but I think people are aware of the concept of IM and I'm sure that soon there will be 'Push' IM for everyone.

No it might not be as simple as BBM at the moment, but it's only going to get easier.
 

Knowlege Bomb

macrumors G4
Feb 14, 2008
10,194
8,833
US
The TextFree app is very similar to the BBM program.

$5.99/yr for unlimited messages and each person is assigned a unique xxxx@textfree.us address so other non-TF members can still contact them.

I actually cancelled my text plan through AT&T the day I bought this and have since been convincing others to jump in with me. I think it's available on other platforms but can't say for sure.

$20.00/mo - AT&T unlimited texting or
$5.99/yr - TextFree Unlimited texting

Easy decision for me. Oh and it has push so you're immediately notified when you receive a message.
 

CanadianMac2008

macrumors member
Apr 11, 2009
68
0
Yeah but you guys are missing one key point - everybody has a PIN for BBM - all you need is a data plan no need to sign up for anything or download an app. It's just there. And it's FREE aside from the data, which a fairly large number of BB and iPhone users would have automatically.

I'm about the biggest anti-blackberry guy I know but they do have a great feature in their messenger and I really wish Apple would introduce an iChat app...
 

Littleappkid

macrumors newbie
Dec 28, 2010
1
0
Cross - platform instant messaging app!


There is a really awesome cross platform app called 'pingchat' it works for all apple devices, blackberry and android devices , you can download it from the app store , because I have downloaded it on my iPhone it's a really good app to stay in touch and also send images between friends on different devices ;) hope this helped
 
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