Last year BlackBerry finally opened up BlackBerry Messenger to other platforms. For now it is only available as a standalone app for iOS and Android. Since it went cross-platform, BBM has added millions of new users, a decent growth on which the company plans to cash in. The company now has set its sights on Windows Phone, Microsoft’s mobile platform, which has outdone it in several markets. BlackBerry CEO John Chen has confirmed that BBM for Windows Phone will be released in the second quarter of this fiscal year.
It was announced at the Mobile World Congress 2014 that BBM will come preloaded on the Nokia X lineup. Nokia’s uses highly forked Android OS in this lineup, which is geared primarily towards emerging markets. BlackBerry’s partnership with Nokia will go much further than the Android lineup. Chen also revealed that in select markets BBM will be preloaded on Lumia devices, once BBM for Windows Phone has been released.
In Canada, Q2 of the fiscal year ends in June, whereas in the U.S. it ends on March 31st. Its unclear right now when Q2 was Chen referring too, its quite possible that BlackBerry would stick to the Canadian schedule. When it is ultimately launched, BBM for Windows Phone will also be available as a free download just like its counterparts on iOS and Android.
Filed in . Read more about BBM, BlackBerry and Windows Phone.