Though, BlackBerry has confirmed official
version of its BBM worldwide for Android and iPhone but the release date might
be delayed a little bit much to the disappointment of many
users across the globe.
The software failed to make its debut
on Android and iPhone devices this weekend as expected, after the smartphone
maker was forced to postpone the release after a leaked version of the software
appeared online.
The beleaguered smartphone maker announced last week that
Android users would be able to download the app on Saturday 21 September, while
iPhone fans would have to wait until the following day to get access to the
messaging service.
However, the firm was forced to hold
off on its release plans for the app after an incomplete version of BBM for
Android appeared online hours before its official launch. The app was
downloaded by more than 1.1 million people during its first eight hours of
availability.
In a statement, BlackBerry said it was
heartened by the initial response to the release, despite the issues it has
caused.
As a result, it confirmed that the
worldwide rollout of the software for both iPhone and Android users has now
been put on hold.
"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," the statement continued.
"As soon as we are able, we will
begin a staggered country rollout of BBM for Android and continue the rollout
of BBM for iPhone," it concluded.
In a follow up statement today, Andrew
Bocking, head of BBM at BlackBerry, shed some further light on the technical
issues caused by the unofficial, older release.
"This older version resulted in
volumes of data traffic orders of magnitude higher than normal for each active
user and impacted the system in abnormal ways," he explained.
"The version we were planning to
release on Saturday addressed these issues, however we could not block users of
the unreleased version if we went ahead with the launch."
As a result, the software is unlikely
to see the light of day this week, as his team works to get the unreleased
version taken out of circulation.
"We are also making sure that the
system is reinforced to handle this kind of scenario in the future. While this
may sound like a simple task – it’s not. This will take some time and I do not
anticipate launching this week," he added.
Reports had previously suggested that
BlackBerry was gunning for a summer launch, for both Apple and Android, but
this failed to materialise.
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