In a bad week of news for BlackBerry, the one bright spot of news in the BBM launch for Android and iOS that was supposed to launch this weekend has been delayed to an unspecified timeframe with a staggered rollout due to a leak of the Android app ahead of its scheduled launch, which was found to have its own slate of issues. The iOS app was also released early, though while BBM access has been pulled for Android users for the time being, iOS users that were able to download the app are still able to use the service.
BlackBerry has also released a statement regarding the delay:
Prior to launching BBM for Android, an unreleased version of the BBM for Android app was posted online. The interest and enthusiasm we have seen already – more than 1.1 million active users in the first 8 hours without even launching the official Android app – is incredible. Consequently, this unreleased version caused issues, which we have attempted to address throughout the day.
Our teams continue to work around the clock to bring BBM to Android and iPhone, but only when it’s ready and we know it will live up to your expectations of BBM. We are pausing the global roll-out of BBM for Android and iPhone. Customers who have already downloaded BBM for iPhone will be able to continue to use BBM. The unreleased Android app will be disabled, and customers who downloaded it should visit www.BBM.com to register for updates on official BBM for Android availability.
As soon as we are able, we will begin a staggered country roll-out of BBM for Android and continue the roll-out of BBM for iPhone.
