• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

My TechDecisions

  • COVID-19 Update
  • Best of Tech Decisions
  • Topics
    • Video
    • Audio
    • Mobility
    • Unified Communications
    • IT Infrastructure
    • Network Security
    • Physical Security
    • Facility
    • Compliance
  • RFP Resources
  • Downloads
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Project of the Week
  • About Us
    SEARCH
Mobility, News

BlackBerry Discontinued Its Famous BBM Service – Here’s What Replacing It

Amid tight competition in the instant messaging market, BBM is folding, and BBMe is emerging.

June 18, 2019 Jessica Messier 3 Comments

According to Business Insider, BlackBerry’s free messaging service discontinued as of June 1.

Called BBM for short, the service was rolled out in 2005, and has been used on Android, iOS, and BlackBerry phones since. BBM experienced a bust in popularity since the birth of iMessage and other messaging services and apps, Business Insider says.

“Instant messaging is a very fluid and competitive market,” BlackBerry said in a blog post. “…we have tried our best to compete in this market and launch many new features and content that we had hoped would grow the BBM user base. Despite all of our efforts, we found that the network effect of the market leaders is getting stronger and we have been squeezed out of user preferences.”

However, BlackBerry is planning on releasing BBM Enterprise, or BBMe, in BBM’s place. This service, BlackBerry’s service for corporate users, will function similar to its predecessor, and will be made available to end users looking to still utilize it.

Users will be able to use their same IDs to log into BBMe, but they will need to create new accounts with new passwords. Users transferring to BBMe will also lose access to their conversations, photos, and other important data from their BBM days as of June 1, Business Insider says.

And, they will have to pay: the service will be free to users for a year, but will then cost $2.50 for a sixth-month subscription. The cost seems reasonable, Business Insider says, but BlackBerry might be intentionally shrinking their market: “As far as subscriptions go, that’s not too bad, but the prospect of paying for a messaging service these days when there are so many free options could mean that only the most die-hard BBM fans will opt for BBMe.”

Users interested in BBMe can get the product from the Google Play store, and soon from Apple’s App Store.

Tagged With: Mobile Device

Related Content:

  • ROI of Cybersecurity The ROI of Cybersecurity
  • Vivotek license plate recognition kit Vivotek License Plate Recognition Camera Kit Suited for…
  • Vaccination Credential Initiative Tech, Health Giants To Create Digital Vaccination Records
  • Supply Chain Compromises How IT Leaders Can Protect Against Supply Chain…

Free downloadable guide you may like:

  • The Ultimate Guide to RFPs is Now FREE – For A Limited Time

    Get expert tips for creating an effective technology request for proposal. Our free guide will help you get the best tech proposals the first time.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarRuth Sanders says

    July 5, 2019 at 8:36 am

    Blackberry will bounce back soon. Our good wishes are with them and it was the time when blackberry had ruled many hearts for a very long time. It was used by many people all over the world.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 3 Cybersecurity Companies That Don't Trust "Trust but Verify" - My TechDecisions says:
    June 19, 2019 at 4:26 pm

    […] Blackberry — for those of you who only recall the company from using Palm Pilots — is now finding footing in the enterprise cybersecurity space. […]

    Reply
  2. 3 Cybersecurity Companies That Don’t Trust "Trust but Verify" – Silicon War says:
    June 20, 2019 at 1:04 pm

    […] Blackberry — for those of you who only recall the company from using Palm Pilots — is now finding footing in the enterprise cybersecurity space. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get the FREE Tech Decisions eNewsletter

Sign up Today!

Latest Downloads

Top 9 Reasons Enterprise IT Leaders Are Moving Their Video Surveillance to the Eagle Eye Cloud

Working in IT has enough challenges without adding in the complications of surveillance video. Things like total cost of maintenance, how the VMA m...

Using Live Chats and Chatbots to Increase Customer Engagement

There's a lot to consider when building out a chatbot experience to ensure that it delivers a seamless experience and meet your business goals.

Finding a New Balance

The shift to a hybrid work environment is a trend that has increased in popularity over many years. The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred this trend, f...

View All Downloads

Would you like your latest project featured on TechDecisions as Project of the Week?

Apply Today!
Sharp Microsoft Collaboration HQ Logo

Learn More About the
Windows Collaboration Display

More from Our Sister Publications

Get the latest news about AV integrators and Security installers from our sister publications:

Commercial IntegratorSecurity Sales

Footer

TechDecisions

  • Home
  • Welcome to TechDecisions
  • Subscribe to the Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Media Solutions & Advertising
  • Comment Guidelines
  • RSS Feeds
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin

Free Technology Guides

FREE Downloadable resources from TechDecisions provide timely insight into the issues that IT, A/V, and Security end-users, managers, and decision makers are facing in commercial, corporate, education, institutional, and other vertical markets

View all Guides
TD Project of the Week

Get your latest project featured on TechDecisions Project of the Week. Submit your work once and it will be eligible for all upcoming weeks.

Enter Today!

© 2021 Emerald X, LLC. All rights reserved.