BlackBerry has been losing a lot of market share in the ever growing competitive market, where according to Gartner, BlackBerry only holds 0.2 percent of the global market share. In comparison to Android which has 80.7 percent, iOS with 17.7 percent and with Windows at 1.1 percent. It therefore comes to no surprise for WhatsApp to drop its support and expenses on the BlackBerry’s platform. Despite being a huge disappointment for certain BlackBerry users who use WhatsApp, it will be interesting to see if other app developers follow.
With WhatsApp leaving BlackBerry’s platform, you might be wondering if there are other messaging platforms which BlackBerry users can use to chat to their contacts on Android and iPhone. Read next:
How to install WhatsApp on iPad or Android tablet.
How to use BlackBerry Messenger with Android & iPhone: WhatsApp alternatives
If you’re a current BlackBerry user and using WhatsApp, you might be wondering what the alternatives might be. There are in fact many different apps which provide the same functionality if not offer more than WhatsApp. However, there might be an app closer to home and that app is called BlackBerry Messenger, better known as
BBM. The free app, which is found on your BlackBerry, is now also free on
Android,
iOS,
Windows and even through
Amazon!
Unfortunately it’s limited to chat, images and voice, whereas WhatsApp using Booyah is able to make group video calls. For more information see
How to make video calls on WhatsApp. If video isn’t important for you, then BBM makes a fantastic native app, which enables you to communicate with your non-BlackBerry contacts. This does mean that your non-BlackBerry contacts will need to have a BBM account and install the app to chat to you, but it’s a very simple sign-up and sign-in process which makes it a lot more attractive than other messaging apps out there.
How to use BlackBerry Messenger with Android & iPhone: BBM on Android & iPhone
In order to get BBM on Android and iPhone, you’ll need to have created a BlackBerry account (which can be done directly through the app) or sign into an existing one.
Once you’ve signed in, you’ll want to look through your previous contacts or your SIM contacts to see if anyone has got BBM already installed or even if they have a BlackBerry account. If you cannot find your friends through the app, message them on social media or send them a text to ask for their BBM PIN, which is a unique number associated to your account. This will allow you to directly find and add your friends and family.
After you’ve successfully added them, you can start chatting to them, as you would have done on WhatsApp. You’ll receive notifications on all mobile platforms and its battery usage is minimal.
