RIM Extending Tools (BBM?) to iPhone?

[jw nyc]

I know BBM here is a hot topic and some think it's great while others think it's stupid. Either way, there is no denying that there are many people who will not leave Blackberry b/c they rely heavily on it. According to Engadget and based on a quote from RIM's VP, the company may soon release their proprietary Blackberry tools for other mobile OS's.

When I used a Blackberry, I used BBM a LOT b/c most of my friends had (and still have) Blackberries so this would be a huge bonus for me and I hope it happens. We'll see...

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/17/rim-extending-tools-to-other-smartphone-platforms-going-cross-p/

 

[joeconvert]

Interesting. I believe just a couple years ago they killed off Blackberry connect for the Nokia smartphones. Seems like a scramble for relevance in the coming years and a way to keep selling high cost BES licenses.

 

[jw nyc]

Interesting. I believe just a couple years ago they killed off Blackberry connect for the Nokia smartphones. Seems like a scramble for relevance in the coming years and a way to keep selling high cost BES licenses.

Exactly. RIM makes a good amount of their profits by selling their BES tools to companies and if they can make their software relevant again by expanding the reach, it could be beneficial to them in the long run.

 

[sharpycl]

If they had done this 2 yrs ago when I switched from BlackBerry to iPhone then I might have enough contacts still on BBM to be excited about this news. I do hope to have this on my iPhone someday, mostly for the few friends that are still in love with their blackberry and would prefer not to text.

 

[jw nyc]

Here is why I think BBM would be successful today on the iPhone even with SMS & the competitors on the market:

1. Group chat
2. Delivered & Read icons
3. Instantly share files, photos, chats, contacts and project lists
4. Faster than SMS
5. Uses Data
6. PIN number instead of having to give out phone number
7. Category Lists
8. BBM display name & picture (stupid to some, important to others)
9. Share location
10. Emoticons

Now some of the competition has SOME of these features but it's the whole package that makes BBM great.

 

[iKrl]

I hope this becomes true soon! In developing countries the Blackberry is like a plague that doesn't stop propagating!...lol...seriously, many have bbm and are always bragging about how easy it is to use! I'm so sick of having to ask people to download whatsapp! to mimic BBM. I bet people would stop buying Blackberrys because everyone whom I've asked says the same..."bbm is the only reason I have a Blackberry"... but I don't care, as long as I can contact people easier for free I'm happy

 

[Demosthenes X]

6. PIN number instead of having to give out phone number

How is this an advantage? I always thought it was stupid that BBM used pins and was tied to the handset, instead of just being tied to the phone number...

Unless you frequently give your PIN to you wouldn't want calling you, but...

 

[Rodimus Prime]

How is this an advantage? I always thought it was stupid that BBM used pins and was tied to the handset, instead of just being tied to the phone number...

Unless you frequently give your PIN to you wouldn't want calling you, but...

well the pin is tied in theory to the handset which is tied back to your user account. If you change phones it is just a matter of going to your user account and linking it to your new phone. As long as you copy your contacts over RIM backbone takes care of changing the pin on everyone else phone to your new one.

It is basically a non-issue.

As for a reason it is not tied to the phone number is Pin is world wide, different parts the world use different numbering system. Country code is not exactly storied in the system when you link back. RIM needs a way to track the phone.
As for giving out your pin RIM has it set up that you can add people to your BBM contact list threw a phone number and then it gets the pin from there. That or how I have done it before is just use the bar code. Puts the bar code on the screen then it is use the camera of the other phone to link it all up.

 

[jw nyc]

How is this an advantage? I always thought it was stupid that BBM used pins and was tied to the handset, instead of just being tied to the phone number...

Unless you frequently give your PIN to you wouldn't want calling you, but...

Exactly. Business colleagues who you wouldn't want to give your personal number to. Or to anyone you meet that you want to be able to contact you without giving your personal cell #.

 

[possumwater]

Exactly. Business colleagues who you wouldn't want to give your personal number to. Or to anyone you meet that you want to be able to contact you without giving your personal cell #.

That is in fact beneficial, but I found it kind of silly for the small amount I used it. Was too complicated to use it vs SMS real quickly. Maybe if I had it set up differently it would have been more seamless for me. I prefer SMS but would like the option to keep my number private.

 

[jw nyc]

That is in fact beneficial, but I found it kind of silly for the small amount I used it. Was too complicated to use it vs SMS real quickly. Maybe if I had it set up differently it would have been more seamless for me. I prefer SMS but would like the option to keep my number private.

What in the world are you talking about!? You only have to enter the PIN once and then the contact is in your buddy list for good. You can also add a buddy if you know their email address and then you can bypass the PIN altogether.

 

[possumwater]

What in the world are you talking about!? You only have to enter the PIN once and then the contact is in your buddy list for good. You can also add a buddy if you know their email address and then you can bypass the PIN altogether.

With my tour, I kept SMS, email, camera, etc on my shortcut bar that stays on the home screen. I used the BBM very little and it would be with the other apps etc. Whenever i'd get a msg, it wouldn't show in the SMS-MMS, i had to go to the BBM app. I also had issues when i'd reply to my buddy and my wife would get the reply from me to him. It was "between him and i" but for some reason she got my msg and not him. Very quirky. I didn't like it, after that I never used it again.

 

[jw nyc]

With my tour, I kept SMS, email, camera, etc on my shortcut bar that stays on the home screen. I used the BBM very little and it would be with the other apps etc. Whenever i'd get a msg, it wouldn't show in the SMS-MMS, i had to go to the BBM app. I also had issues when i'd reply to my buddy and my wife would get the reply from me to him. It was "between him and i" but for some reason she got my msg and not him. Very quirky. I didn't like it, after that I never used it again.

You can now enter SMS contacts into your BBM program so you can control all of that type of communication from a single app. It would be fantastic for the iPhone.

 

[possumwater]

You can now enter SMS contacts into your BBM program so you can control all of that type of communication from a single app. It would be fantastic for the iPhone.

Ahhh, I wish I had that configured on mine. I never used it bc of it being a diff app. I agree, would be nice to have it added due to the fact that lots of ppl have BBM.