BlackBerry phone running Android OS

The BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) app for Android and iOS is set to be released this month. With this move, BlackBerry hopes to compete directly with other messaging platforms such as Viber and WhatsApp. However, making BBM available on rival platforms could potentially hurt BlackBerry phone sales. Many loyal BBM users may no longer feel the need to own a BlackBerry device and could instead choose smartphones like the Samsung S4 or the iPhone 5 for their next upgrade, drawn by their sleeker designs and wider selection of apps.

BlackBerry failed to realize that the reason it still had die-hard customers was because of BBM’s strong features and the affordable BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) fee. Instead of making BBM available on Android and iOS, the company could have considered developing new BlackBerry devices that run on Android OS while integrating signature BlackBerry features such as BIS and BBM. With this strategy, BlackBerry might have been able to compete more effectively with Samsung and potentially win back former BlackBerry users.