BBM to be available to Samsung galaxy users in Africa

After announcement by blackberry in May of this year and a prediction that Blackberry Messenger may be available as early as September this year, it seems it is becoming a reality faster than we thought.

Samsung has announced that the Blackberry Messenger will be available soon for users of Samsung galaxy smartphones across Africa. It stated that the app will be available free of charge in Samsung’s app store and Google Play Store for users in Africa.

However, no specific date was specified. It is expected that the BBM is going to include person-to-person chats, multi-person chats and BBM Groups which would allow up to 30 people to chat at time. It is also expected that sharing of images and voice notes will be possible.

Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Vice President (VP) of Samsung Electronics Africa, George Ferreira said in a press statement:

“At Samsung, we are all about collaboration, innovation and driving consumer experience based on choice, value and customization to suit every lifestyle. As such, bringing a top tier messaging service such as BBM is another way that we are expanding the catalogue of our messaging services and offering customers an amazing way to stay instantly connected with colleagues, friends and family.”

As an African, I think it is a good thing that this is coming to Africa first. This may probably be due to the fact that most of Blackberry users are in the developed world or other reasons we may not know.

It is not clear yet when will be available for users in other parts of the world but that will likely be sooner rather than later. Blackberry should be very careful to make this app bug free as bugs could make Blackberry’s aim of releasing the app backfire.

Posted in Blackberry, Samsung