Tag: blackberry

The BlackBerry’s messenger service has proven itself to be tremendously popular.

BlackBerry is finally enjoying some time in the spotlight for a positive reason, which is connected to the popularity of the release of its BBM apps for Android and iOS device users.

The messenger service was recently released for those two operating systems and is being downloaded by the millions.

The BlackBerry devices may not have been selling at the rate that they had hoped, but its messenger apps are a huge hit among Apple and Android smartphone owners. According to the company’s own data, there had already been more than 10 million downloads of the BlackBerry Messenger service within the first 24 hours of its initial release to users of devices that were not from that manufacturer.

BlackBerry said that its apps are now processing approximately 500,000 new users every hour.

Jeff Gadway, a spokesperson for BlackBerry, said that “We have absolutely incredible demand we’re trying to manage.” He added that “We’re off to a really good start.” This hype and popularity for the apps is very welcome news for the Canadian company, which has been fighting a losing battle with its competitors in the smartphone marketplace and has put itself up for sale.

These new millions of users of the apps are in addition to the 60 million BlackBerry users who are already using the BBM service. That said, it is not yet clear how the manufacturer will actually generate any money from this popular new service. The application, itself, is free, and there is competition within the instant messaging sphere, to the point that BBM is not currently the leader.

Among the BBM apps, the one designed specifically for BlackBerry users was the very first instant messenger created specifically for smartphones, and it rapidly became exceptionally popular in the last half of the first decade of the 2000s. It provides users the ability to keep their identities secure through a unique and protected anonymous code, and to know when their messages had been delivered to the recipients, and when they had been opened. Now, despite a large number of alternatives, other device users are beginning to enjoy this same benefit.

Check These Features Before Handing Out Phones!

Every organisation should by now be handing out smartphones to their staff. Smartphones have a number of great advantages that are hugely beneficial to workflow and productivity, and can hugely extend your staff’s ability to work on the move and stay connected.

But saying your staff should have smartphones isn’t particularly helpful when there’s such a huge selection of different phones out there – all with wildly differing specs and feature sets. There’s such a huge wealth of devices to choose from that you could be forgiven for avoiding the topic altogether and letting your team stick with their current models a little longer…

Fortunately though, you don’t need to be a technology expert in order to choose the best devices for your workforce: you just need to know what to look out for and what to avoid.

Different organisations of course will have different requirements, but almost all companies will have a few basic criteria that they need their devices to meet, and as long as you identify these and ensure you find the right gadgets this should work fine for you.

Here then we will look at a few of the things you need to ensure as minimum for your phones.

Minimum Requirements for Your Company Phones

Compatibility: Chances are that your company will use a range of other technology on top of your smartphones. Almost every office will have computers, and you may also use tablets, security equipment and custom software. Either way, different models of phone are likely to support your existing technology to varying degrees.

Ideally, if your staff work using Macs, then you would provide them with iPhones which will allow them to access iCloud for instance. Likewise if your company use Chrome for a browser, then you might prefer to find smartphones that have a Chrome app so that your staff can sync their bookmarks and tabs. If you rely a lot on Microsoft’s suite of office programs, then a Windows phone will make it easier for you to sync the calendar and outlook etc.

Plans and Cost: Of course it’s all well and good ensuring that your phones can do everything you want them to and that they are powerful and multifunctional, but if they cost the Earth or only come with useless data plans, then they’re not going to be particularly useful for your company. Make sure then that you can find a good deal for the phones that you want, even if that means perhaps going back a generation.

Practicality: For some companies, a Galaxy Note 3 would be the ideal phone for using on the go with its stylus for signing off documents and its large screen for checking e-mail. But then again, if your company works on a building site then it probably won’t be quite so useful: requiring two handed use and taking up a lot of space in the pocket. In such a scenario an iPhone might be more useful, or even a Blackberry which will be more durable and easier to store inside a thick protective case.

Author Bio-

Nancy Baker, the author of this article, is a freelance blogger who is currently writing for, VoIP Superstore, reputable providers of configuration and support services for small business phone systems. She enjoys keeping herself update with the latest market trends when not indulging in a John Grisham novel. You can also follow her on Twitter @Nancy Baker