The greatly struggling smartphone manufacturer has now unveiled its BBM for iPhone and Android users.
As the company had been indicating for some time, BlackBerry has now announced that its dedicated BBM messenger service apps are now available to Android and iPhone users very soon.
The BlackBerry Messenger service have now become available for sale on the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
This means that the apps for BlackBerry Messenger will no longer be exclusively available to users of the devices from that manufacturer. They are now available for free for the devices based on the operating systems of the leaders of the smartphone market, Android and iOS.
These free apps becoming available for Android and iPhone are only one of many recent announcements from the company.
The unveiling of the apps for other smartphones came directly after the company launched yet another smartphone device into the marketplace. It also revealed that it would be laying off 4,500 employees, as the company flounders in losses from a lack of sales.
These messenger apps allow smartphone users to be able to share information and chat with up to 30 different users within a single conversation. It also uses a unique PIN to ensure that the users’ privacy will remain secure. That number is not just a password for signing into the program. Instead, it can be used to boost security when deciding whether or not contact information and other data should be shared with the other people who are involved within the conversations.
As BlackBerry takes these steps into the iOS and Android marketplaces, it is leading many people to speculate with regards to whether or not this is a last ditch effort from the company to attempt to compete in yet another marketplace. The messenger service apps market is already swamped with competition, with leaders that have already established themselves, including WeChat, WhatsApp, and Line.
The BBM apps became available to Android smartphones over Google Play download as of September 21, and iPhone users started downloading from the App Store starting on September 22. The number of downloaders and users has yet to be seen.
Smartphones and tablets aren’t just for business anymore. They’re portable personal entertainment devices, too. You don’t have to stare glumly into space while waiting for the doctor to call you back for your appointment or while riding the bus on your morning commute. Just download some fun, free apps. You’ll never be bored again and you won’t pay a dime for the privilege. Here are five awesome ones to get you started.
Face Swap
What could be more fun than putting your face on someone else’s body? Nothing, right? The sheer simple genius of this app is part of its addicting appeal. All you need is a picture of the person with whom you want to swap faces (you can Photoshop this if necessary). Did you ever want your brother and sister to switch faces? Have you ever wished your boyfriend had the body of Brad Pitt? Does the thought of putting your annoying mother-in-law’s face on the body of Honey Boo Boo’s mother amuse you? This app will provide you with hours of innocent to semi-wicked amusement.
Duck Dynasty Beard Booth
Who doesn’t love “Duck Dynasty“? You watch it. You know you do. The Duck Dynasty Beard Booth allows you to choose from one of several beard styles worn by the men of “Duck Dynasty” and place that beard on a photo of anyone you know. It works on both new and existing photos and allows you to re-size the beard to fit the face. Beard up all of your family and friends. You can even share the results on social media and add custom captions.
Talking Ben the Dog
This app is simply astounding in its inherent hilarity. You’ve got to get Ben the Dog (a retired chemistry professor, no less) to talk to you. He prefers to read the paper, so you have to get his attention. Poke, tickle, or slap him and he’ll put down his paper and interact with you. Go to voice mode and you can have a conversation with him. Go to lab mode and you can get Ben to perform some awesomely funny chemistry experiments. Best of all, you can record all of these interactions and share them with your friends.
Break
The Break app has the serious potential to keep you in stitches for hours at a time. Once you start it up, it’s hard to put it down. A companion to the humor site, Break.com, this is a funny videos app that goes beyond the everyday video showcases. There are picture galleries of funny photos, videos of side-splitting pranks and fails, movie trailers, funny songs and Break.com exclusive web series and celebrity interviews. It’s all there in one free app that is more addictive than chocolate.
Ghost Detector
Now is your chance to see if your house is haunted. This wonderful app has built-in radar that will detect ghosts within a nine-mile radius. It also has an EMF filter so you can hear if the ghosts are trying to talk to you. Don’t sit around wondering what’s going bump in the night. Find out for sure and maybe even make a new ghostly friend with the Ghost Detector.
