BBM for Android and iOS are coming soon, but the former suffered a leak this weekend that lets users sideload the APK file and open the app. Unfortunately for most, likely because BlackBerry saw this day coming from a mile away, the actual functionality — logging in with a BlackBerry ID and using the app — is restricted to a small number of whitelisted accounts.
We saw the application leaked on video a couple of weeks back, with one lucky user giving us a nice run through of everything we can expect. It’s full-on Blackberry, with the company’s design time ditching Holo for an experience that matches what you can find on their own devices.
BlackBerry said the service would go live before the end of the summer, following its announcement at BlackBerry World Live 2013 in May.
More recent reports have claimed BBM will launch before the end of September although BlackBerry is remaining very tight-lipped about concrete release dates. Adding fuel to the speculative bonfire that is when-will-BBM-come-to-Android is the news that Samsung Galaxy handsets may get the service first via the company’s Samsung Apps portal.
Statement from BlackBerry:
The excitement around the upcoming launch of BBM for Androidand iPhone users is amazing. We want to thank everyone for their enthusiasm, but wanted to let people know that the program is structured so that only those in the beta will be able to use the app. The version we’ve seen on the Web in the last couple of days can be downloaded, but will not work on devices that are not approved in the beta program.
