BBM on iOS review: Unusual design but better than competitors

By Samir Alam Finally after months of anticipation and one catastrophic attempt at a global launch last month, Blackberry has finally succeeded in releasing its flagship consumer product — Blackberry Messenger on the iOS and Android platforms. All glitches and complaints aside, BBM is finally here and hopefully for good. The company’s official blog announced the release late evening on 21 October and was greeted by a flood of skepticism and delight by the online community. Considering the current state of the Instant Messaging market, Blackberry has a lot of catching up to do in order to compete with Whatsapp, the current leader. [caption id=“attachment_1187337” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The layout and arrangement of the app itself is very intuitive and clearly segmented allowing easy access to Groups, Chats and Contacts at the bottom centre of the screen. Reuters[/caption] Fervent fans of the BBM experience however are convinced that Blackberry’s foray on to the dominant platforms means that Whatsapp’s days are all but numbered. Only the coming days and weeks will decide. Wait To Get In Yes, the rumours are true. Getting on to BBM is very much like getting into an exclusive club; there is a cue to access the goodies behind the door. Considering Blackberry’s earlier experience, that brought the app to a halt and delayed its release, the wait isn’t necessarily a bad thing but as many initial users have said the first impression is not a good one. Firstpost was able to get ahead of the queue and take a quick peek in to how the app fares on the iPhone 5 running iOS 7 to see what we can hope to expect in the future. Unusual Interface Design The first thing of note is the hybrid character of the app’s user interface on the iPhone. To anyone unfamiliar with Blackberry 10, the experience takes a bit getting used to but not for the worse. The app brings the gesture driven menu access system to the iPhone screen, compelling our finger to wipe across the screen left and right to discover the features of the app itself; something not every iPhone user may be comfortable with at first. The layout and arrangement of the app itself is very intuitive and clearly segmented allowing easy access to Groups, Chats and Contacts at the bottom centre of the screen. Entering the virgin landscape of the app and we are greeted by white blankness that is quickly occupied with your contacts once you start adding them. But considering how long it has been for most iPhone users since they’ve used a Blackberry device (if at all), it may take a while for this space to fill out. Multi-Platform Reach Obviously the key offering with this monumental release is that users are no longer confined to the Blackberry hardware for their messenger needs. So whether your contacts are using a Blackberry device or an Android device, the transition on to the chat is seamless and pain free. In addition to this cross-platform convenience you enjoy the usual goodies that come with other messengers such as media attachments, voice note share, emoticon chats and the ever useful ping. Certain noticeable absences arise from the lack of BBM voice or BBM video call, which BlackBerry has said will come in future releases. Device Portability Restricted Another aspect of the BBM app is its restrictive device portability that only allows users to access it from one device at a time. Unlike WhatsApp that binds with your phone number for security purposes or the iMessage app which uses your email ID, BBM is bound to your registration details and doesn’t allow multiple device logins simultaneously. Overall Impressions The biggest upside to using BBM on the iPhone is the convergence of all your personal communication. No longer would you switch between Whatsapp, iMessage or any other app that the quirk of your social circle demanded. There are no longer any good reasons for an iPhone user not to at least give the BBM app a shot. And although the design features take a little getting use to, they are no different then the learning curve on FruitNinja. In exchange for the effort, users are rewarded with a remarkably fast, accurate and clearly understood interface (no more confusing double ticks like on WhatsApp). Broadening their reach from about 50 million active users to the near sum total of all smartphone devices on earth (apart from Windows OS), Blackberry has taken a very bold step by opening up to multiple platforms and inviting traffic on a much larger scale. What remains to be seen is what Blackberry does with it next.