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Blackberry BBM Release: Messenger Service Comes to Android and iPhone

Oct 22, 2013 12:54 PM EDT | By Justin Stock

Despite its struggles to keep up with the every changing mobile phone market, Blackberry has proceeded with its distribution of its Blackberry Messenger Service to the Android, and iPhone smartphones BBC News reported Tuesday.

"To help manage this unprecedented pent-up demand for BBM, we are implementing a simple line-up system to ensure a smooth rollout," Andrew Bocking, Blackberry spokesman told BBC News.

Four weeks after the app was unofficially released or 'leaked', consumers can now obtain the app through Google Play, the App Store on the phones, and certain Samsung App stores.

"In just seven hours [following the leak], about one million Android users were using the unreleased version of BBM for Android," the company said in a statement on its website.

Customers who had already signed up to find out about Blackberry's new messenger service could quickly obtain the app, while those who did not had to wait for an unspecified time.

Those interested in using the program, now must enter their place in line for the product by signing up on bbm.com through the internet browser on their device.

Last year, Blackberry lost $646 million when its revenue significantly decreased 40 percent to $11 billion The Wall Street Journal reported. This year, the company lost four million subscribers and suffered another decrease of $84 million in the fiscal quarter that ended June 1.

Blackberry made a smaller amount of cuts over the summer from its sales, and research, and development departments. This comes just a year after the company let go 5,000 people.

As of March, Blackberry had 12,700 employees, which was the last time it revealed a total number. Two years ago, over 17,000 employees worked at the company based in Waterloo, Ontorio Canada. Blackberry also had control of 14 percent of the smartphone business. This has since dropped to less than three percent.  

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