It was one of the key features and selling points of the BlackBerry ecosystem, one that has come under a lot of fire recently.
That said, as many will know, BBM for Android and iOS should already have launched.
September 21 was the scheduled launch for the Android app, with the iOS version due to land on the App store a day later. Unfortunately the iOS version went live a day early.
Combine that with 1.1 million downloads of a leaked BBM for Android Beta app, and the ensuing chaos led BlackBerry with no choice but to pull both apps.
BlackBerry said at the time that they were "focused on adjusting the system to completely block this unreleased version of the Android app when we go live with the official BBM for Android app" whilst also "making sure that the system is reinforced to handle this kind of scenario in the future".
It is pretty easy to imagine that systems were overloaded, with BlackBerry servers unready and unable to handle the large volumes of new users.
So I'll get BBM soon?
BlackBerry Chief Marketing Officer Franck Boulben told Reuters that the BBM launch for iOS and Android should be coming within the next couple of days.
The last reports said that BBM is set to bring messaging and groups across, with voice, screen share, video, and other features being added in later updates. Whether any new features have been added during this downtime has yet to be confirmed, although it looks unlikely.
For the moment, the planned launch of BBM on alternate OS' is limited to just iOS and Android, though that doesn't necessarily mean that BBM won't emigrate to other mobile operating systems in the future.
Suggestions that Windows Phone might be treated to a BBM app have been fuelled by BBM creator Gary Klassen, who told The Mobile Indian "BBM will not be limited to just Android or iOS. We are open to other platforms also."
He added that BlackBerry "want more people to enjoy and experience BBM". Could this be one of the future scenarios that BlackBerry is preparing for?
With Windows Phone gaining in popularity across the globe, doubling its share of the European market in a year, this could be a market that BlackBerry can't afford to miss, or maybe we're just hopeful that we're all going to share in the BBM love.
