No more queue for BBM; voice and video calling coming soon

Here’s some good news for all those of you who decided to wait it out to get yourselves into the BlackBerry Messenger app world for Android and iOS owing to the huge queue it had – the line is all gone.

You will no longer need to twiddle your thumbs and wait for BlackBerry to send you an email, letting you join the fun on the messenger. You can simply download the app, create a BlackBerry ID and start adding your family and friends using their BBM pins.

BBM was launched officially for Android and iOS a week ago amidst much fan-fare. Despite the fact that BlackBerry had earlier aborted an attempt to launch the app on both platforms last month, there were millions who wanted to get a hold of the app, so much so that BBM was downloaded a total of 10 million times within the first 24 hours of the launch.

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No more queues

However, most of these had to cool their heels at the end of a queue created by BlackBerry, reportedly formed to avoid server issues with millions of people joining in together. First preference was given to the six million odd people who had signed up on the website to get news about the application, followed by more of those who signed up using the application for an invite. The queue system took a toll on many who took to social networking websites to vent about the disappointment of having to wait even longer to get their hands on BBM. That’s thankfully, over and done with and you can now start using the app straight off.

There’s another bit of good news for BBM for Android and iOS users. Phone Arena has reported that Andrew Bocking, Executive VP of BBM for BlackBerry has assured users on Sunday that voice and video calling abilities using these apps are coming in a few months.

Bocking has assured that BBM for iOS and Android will remain free, CBC’s Andrea Bellemare has tweeted that the Canadian company could be looking at monetising the applications via BBM Channels. Calling Channels a “social engagement platform within BBM,” Bocking said that it spreads the “BBM experience to brands, artists, businesses and communities, you will now be able to connect with individuals and groups in real time.”

Even while the service may remain in beta for a while longer, BBM Channels should be coming to the Android and iOS version of the application soon. “We continue to plan to evolve the service and keep making it more engaging and have more reasons why people will come back to use the service,” Bocking said.