After a successful launch which topped 10 million downloads within the first 24 hours, BBM will arrive on Apple’s Wi-Fi-only iPads and various iPod Touch models later today.
The ailing Canadian smartphone maker made the choice to end a long-running exclusivity on BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM, bringing the instant chat app to rival platforms iPhone and Android last month. The launch wasn’t smooth, with the app being pulled at the first attempt before going live again on October 22nd, though once it did become fully available lots of people downloaded it, at least according to BlackBerry.
When revealing its plans to bring BBM to iOS and Android much earlier in the year, the then CEO Thorsten Heins said that there were plans to bring it to iPad and iPod Touch at some point. That point is today, as the company’s head of BBM Andrew Bocking confirming to Slashgear that the app would arrive on Apple’s other devices “within 24 hours”.
See also: BBM for iOS and Android to get video and voice sharing “within months”
BBM for iOS already works on 3G/4G iPads, though unfortunately not on Wi-Fi only models. This is set to change within 24 hours, presumably thanks to an app update. The app won’t be iPad-specific as such and won’t be specifically tailored to suit the tablet’s larger display. Bocking even confirmed to Slashgear that the company doesn’t have an app in development, so those hoping to download BBM for their iPad will have to make do with an iPhone screen-sized app running on a larger display.
There’s obvious appeal in downloading BBM for Wi-Fi-only iPads and iPod Touches, as both don’t have a cellular connection and so calling and texting is out. The app will allow BlackBerry users and general chatterboxes to keep in touch with those using BBM on smartphones without the actual need for a phone, which will probably come in handy when the phone battery dies or there’s Wi-Fi but no mobile signal. Both devices do however feature Apple’s own iMessage application, though this limits users to chatting with other iOS and OS X devices from Apple.