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  • BlackBerry service to become cross-platform service?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rim-tests-server-blackberry-competitors-171900389.html
Canadian manufacturer Research In Motion unveiled on Tuesday a new server for its BlackBerry smartphone that also supports competitors' smartphones and tablets.

Currently in early beta testing with select customers, the server marks RIM's entry into the "multi-platform mobile device management marketplace," it said.

Thus it allows customers to manage emails and data for RIM's BlackBerry smartphones and PlayBook tablets as well as those running Google's Android and Apple's iOS operating systems, from one web-based console.

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So would this mean BiS and BlackBerry Chat Messenger will be available on Andriod and iPhones? or do they mean only BlackBerry's enterprise service(BES) will go cross-platform?
The BBM service is supposed to be available on Android and Iphones soon--I saw a few articles about it when I was talking to my brother who liked the BBM service, but his HTC much more. This was during the recent BBM "blackout"

http://www.intomobile.com/2011/10/03/blackberry-messenger-for-android-makes-first-appearance/

There were some other articles about it and from what I remember, the service was going to cost $4.95 per month.
^
If that(hopefully) will be the case, that would be awesome!!
considering most Lebanese now use BBs, iPhones, and Andriod, We would all finally be able to stay in touch without having to stick to a single phone nor use many other apps(Whatsapp, IM+,etc...) to chat with each other :)
Yeah but Whatsapp is still the best.... Remember lots of people are still on Nokia
Monkey D. Luffy wroteYeah but Whatsapp is still the best.... Remember lots of people are still on Nokia
yea, but not as much like the good ol' days
too bad they didn't mention compatibility with Nokias.. would have have it perfect

The reason I hate BlackBerry is because they're phones lack innovation compared to Samsung/HTC/Apple/etc... and that at a time when we didn't have descent(we still don't.. but not like before) GPRS/EDGE connection/quota the only option the Lebanese resorted to was BBM(even at $40/month).. so basically BB took the advantage of our situation, and it payed off for them, now whenever I enter a bus the first thing I hear is that damn keyboard clicking sounds coming from people's BBs

I have a friend who has a Nokia n8, initially he wanted to install Whatsapp but before our "3G advance" he would have to pay $5/month for 25mbs... which sounds silly, also since most of his friends are on BBM and they don't bother even using whatsapp on their BBs.. then what can he do? so he bought a BlackBerry just to chat and the n8 for apps and calling lol
considering most Lebanese now use BBs, iPhones, and Andriod, We would all finally be able to stay in touch without having to stick to a single phone nor use many other apps(Whatsapp, IM+,etc...) to chat with each other :)
I'd like to see some credible sources here. I think this is an illusion you get when most of your friends have smartphones.
samer wrote
considering most Lebanese now use BBs, iPhones, and Andriod, We would all finally be able to stay in touch without having to stick to a single phone nor use many other apps(Whatsapp, IM+,etc...) to chat with each other :)
I'd like to see some credible sources here. I think this is an illusion you get when most of your friends have smartphones.
According to statistics done by iLoubnan.info (Link (Now Broken) published on October 2010, 64.4 % of the population (2,720,000 out of 4,224,000) uses Mobile phones.
I'd assume that only 15% (of course it's much more) have smartphones. That would be equal to 408,000 device.
Offering almost half a million person (in one small country like ours) a cross platform chat solution like the BB service is indeed awesome (and maybe profitable).

On a side note, i wonder when we will be having good credible sources for such statistics...
samer wrote
considering most Lebanese now use BBs, iPhones, and Andriod, We would all finally be able to stay in touch without having to stick to a single phone nor use many other apps(Whatsapp, IM+,etc...) to chat with each other :)
I'd like to see some credible sources here. I think this is an illusion you get when most of your friends have smartphones.
perhaps I did exaggerate on that statement a bit, but My point is that, once upon a time (bout 4-5 years+ ago) it would be very hard to spot anyone with a BlackBerry in Lebanon, yet at that time people wanted a way to chat between each other, and they did not view the WAP 25MB/month package as an optimal solution due to the low quota given(which could be spent quickly using FaceBook and visiting heavy sites). then BB service started in Lebanon, alot of people subscribed, and out of nowhere the phones could be found almost everything(the first time I saw someone with a BB in my university, I asked him why was he continuously "writing" on his BB lol)

but still, people loyal to the Nokia, Andriod phones, and Apple(which are still large in number compared to BB) couldn't chat between each other, then word of WhatsApp came out, but at that time BBM was already a very popular form of chating in Lebanon, and although WhatsApp is free on the BB, but for some reason BB users(not all of course) don't feel like keeping two chat clients open in their phones, thus this keeping a "chat gap" between users of the other platforms

The main message I'm trying to send: People should be given the "default" opportunity to chat with others REGARDLESS of which phone they have.

now RIM's decision to make their services work on Android and iOS is great, but it's too bad they didn't include Nokia :/