Can we put to rest the BBM to android discussion?

[broncomaniac99]

First, it was leaked that RIM was going cross-platform with bbm, now it seems that RIM has stated they have no plans for this to happen. What are we to believe?

Will bbm ever come to android?

If so, when?

 

[Chrisy]

I was hopeful when I first heard the rumors, but not so much now. I posted this link a while ago, and I'll stick it here again.

RIM Says BlackBerry Messenger will NOT be going Cross-Platform ? N4BB – News for BlackBerry – leaks, rumors, videos, faqs, reviews

I'd rather, instead on BBM, that Google Talk be dramatically update. Include Delivered and Read indicators, and file sharing as well as video chat.

 

[ottscay]

Sadly (as an ex Crackberry addict and RIM sympathizer) I fear that RIM's current management isn't clever enough to do something like extend BBM to being multi-platform. And for anyone watching their current roadmap, you can see that they are once again failing to launch competitive products on time - which is a shame, because the new crop of products looks pretty decent, but they just can't seem to get them out the door in time.

Honestly, if they can't get QNX-based phones out the door this year they should already have a contingency plan to put out BB branded Android phone with a skin that would be familiar to BB users. That way development time would be cut and they could at least get cutting edge products shipped on time while figuring out how to get QNX on phones. Otherwise their marketshare will continue to drop, even as they slash margins.

I imagine after the Nokia fiasco no one should be surprised to see RIM fall, but it's still sad to watch.

 

[srkmagnus]

I'd rather, instead on BBM, that Google Talk be dramatically update. Include Delivered and Read indicators, and file sharing as well as video chat.

I am with you on this one. Google Talk is great and with lots of people migrating to Android based phones I don't see how people will not want to use it. It's already available for different platforms and needs a good push to get it going.

 

[DenverRalphy]

I'd rather, instead on BBM, that Google Talk be dramatically update. Include Delivered and Read indicators, and file sharing as well as video chat.

I've publicly shared the same opinion many times over. And the kicker is, Google Talk already supports all the features (minus the Read indicator). It's just Google's gTalk app that sucks rocks. There are third party chat apps that will send pics, files, etc.. via Google Talk. Google really needs to get on the ball and revamp their Android app.

I will say though, I don't personally want to see Read notifications in Google Talk. That's the one feature I truly disliked in BBM. There are times I don't wish the sender to know I've read the message, since it all too often gives the sender a sense of entitlement to an immediate response. IMHO, Read notifications only have a place within corporate/business mission critical correspondence (which technically, BBM was originally intended for), and shouldn't be in public communication.

 

[Chrisy]

The gTalk app on BlackBerry did have file sharing! That's the strange thing. I used Google Talk BlackBerry to BlackBerry to send pics all the time. I was surprised when I learned that Android gTalk doesn't have this feature. Very odd.

As for the D and R, I never felt an obligation to respond right away just because the sender knows that I read their message. I reply in my own time. If they feel entitled, that's their problem. I like the D and R though just so I know the message has been sent. The R isn't really necessary, I just like the novility of it, and Tue same with seeing, "other party is typing."

Google Talk needs to be improved a lot. I do like that it's cross platform though. I also like that I can choose to sign out, unlike BBM.

 

[Major]

Doesn't Whatapp Messenger already offer this function?

I have never been a BBM user so I don't know for sure, but the description of the app makes it seem that it offers what you're looking for.

 

[srkmagnus]

There are a few apps that offer mutli device support. But not all offer the same features and it requires you to signup for a new account. most people I know use Gmail even though they don't have an Android device.

 

[Chrisy]

Yeah, I just want to use Google talk. I'm tired of all these 3rd party apps that I have to ask my friends to join. Everyone can use gtalk, even without gmail!

 

[DenverRalphy]

Whatsapp is limited to smartphones, whereas gTalk, AIM, Yahoo messenger, MSN etc.. are true cross platform messenger services. They are available on any phone, PC, Mac, Linux box, gaming consoles, etc..

I'm personally boycotting Whatsapp, PingChat, Kik, KakaoTalk etc... simply because I don't feel the desire to install yet more messaging apps (or ask others to install new messengers on their devices) when there are already plenty of messengers available. I already have accounts with the 5 major IM services, and when I meet somebody new, chances are good they already have an account with one of them.

IMHO, when there are already plenty of all-in-one messenger apps like Trillian, IM+, etc.. each of which already support 9 or 10 services (I use Trillian myself), there's no need to reinvent the wheel.

 

[DenverRalphy]

After today's announcement of iMessenger, maybe we'll get lucky and Google will step up and put more work into gTalk. One could always hope anyway.

They'd have a distinct advantage if they did, because gTalk would be available to all platforms, whereas BBM and iMessenger are only for their particular brands.