BlackBerry’s chat service BBM coming to Android, iPhone by this week

BlackBerry’s popular instant chat service BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) will start running on rival mobile devices powered by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS software later this week in line with the Canadian smartphone maker’s plans to open up the service to hold on to market share.

BlackBerry said in a media statement on Thursday that "BBM for Android would start rolling out on September 21 and for iPhone customers a day later from September 22" globally, including India. The Canadian smartphone maker’s popular instant chat app is now available only on BlackBerry devices. But come Saturday, it will be available as a free download for Android smartphones running Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean (Android 4.x) software. Likewise, BBM for iPhones powered by iOS 6 and iOS 7 software will become available for each market on the App Store schedule on Sunday.