BMM lands on Android, iPhones this week

Once available exclusively on BlackBerry devices, its upcoming availability on alternative platforms was announced earlier this year, much to the delight of former BlackBerry users who have switched to different smartphones in recent years that would like to still use BBM.

BBM will be available from Google Play for Android phones from Saturday, September 21, and then available for iPhones from the App Store on Sunday, September 22.

The app is free on both platforms. Android users will need to be running Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean to get the app, and iPhone users will need iOS 6 or iOS 7 installed.

BBM for Android and iPhone features:

• BBM Chat – Enjoy real, immediate conversations with friends on Android, iPhone and BlackBerry smartphones. Not only does BBM let you know that your message has been delivered and read, it also shows you that your friend is responding to the message.
• More than chat – With BBM you can share files on your phone such as photos and voice notes, all in an instant.
• Keep your group in the loop – Multi-person chats are a great way to invite contacts to chat together. BBM Groups lets you invite up to 30 friends to chat together, and go a step further than multi-chat by sharing photos and schedules. And, with Broadcast Message, you can send a message out to all your BBM contacts at once.
• Post Updates and stay in the know – BBM lets you post a personal message, profile picture and your current status, and lets your contacts know instantly in Updates.
• Your unique PIN – Every BBM user has a unique PIN that maintains your privacy, so you don't have to give out your phone number or email address to a new or casual contact.