BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) sent out invitations for a mystery event on Wednesday, and some believe that the company is planning to announce the launch of BlackBerry Messenger on iOS and Android. Of course it’s also worth noting that the poster for the event shows the BlackBerry Z30 handset, which could mean the company unveils a new handset as well.
Moving BlackBerry Messenger to competing platforms
Back in May at the BlackBerry Live conference, the company said it would begin launching BlackBerry Messenger across a number of platforms, and it didn’t take long for rumors about launch dates to start surfacing. Some even predicted it would roll out on the two platforms as early as June.
Also there have been other hints that the popular messaging app would be on the Android platform sooner rather than later. Some BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) users in South Africa reported seeing ads for BlackBerry Messenger on Android. Some also said they were on Samsung’s official YouTube page in Ghana, although those ads were removed.
BlackBerry Messenger on iOS
One problem that may have been standing in the way of BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) rolling out its popular messaging app on iOS is approval from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). One of the company’s executives tweeted that it was taking a much longer time than usual for Apple to approve BlackBerry Messenger for iOS.
On average, it takes about four days for Apple to approve new apps, but according to BlackBerry executive Alex Kinsella, it took more than two weeks. There hasn’t been an update from him about whether the app was finally approved.
Will BlackBerry spin off BBM?
Meanwhile as BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) looks at strategic options, one of the possibilities is that it might spin off its popular messaging app. After all, it may be one of the most valuable parts of the company, especially if the rollout of BBM on iOS and Android proves to be a big success. The company wants to get a deal done sooner rather than later though, so it makes sense for it to roll out BBM to competing platforms first before making a decision about what to do. Part of that app’s value could come from how well it is received on other platforms.
