and iPhone is unlikely to be released this week, much to the disappointment of many users across the globle.
The software failed to make its debut on Android and iPhone devices
this weekend as expected, after the smartphone maker was forced to
postpone the release after a leaked version of the software appeared
online.
The beleaguered smartphone maker announced last week
that Android users would be able to download the app on Saturday 21
September, while iPhone fans would have to wait until the following day
to get access to the messaging service.
However, the firm was forced to hold off on its release plans for the
app after an incomplete version of BBM for Android appeared online
hours before its official launch. The app was downloaded by more than
1.1 million people during its first eight hours of availability.
In a statement, BlackBerry said it was heartened by the initial response to the release, despite the issues it has caused.
As a result, it confirmed that the worldwide rollout of the software for both iPhone and Android users has now been put on hold.
"Customers who have already downloaded BBM for iPhone will be able to
continue to use BBM. The unreleased Android app will be disabled, and
customers who downloaded it should visit www.BBM.com to register for updates on official BBM for Android availability," the statement continued.
"As soon as we are able, we will begin a staggered country rollout of
BBM for Android and continue the rollout of BBM for iPhone," it
concluded.
In a follow up statement today, Andrew Bocking, head of BBM at
BlackBerry, shed some further light on the technical issues caused by
the unofficial, older release.
"This older version resulted in volumes of data traffic orders of
magnitude higher than normal for each active user and impacted the
system in abnormal ways," he explained.
"The version we were planning to release on Saturday addressed these
issues, however we could not block users of the unreleased version if we
went ahead with the launch."
As a result, the software is unlikely to see the light of day this
week, as his team works to get the unreleased version taken out of
circulation.
"We are also making sure that the system is reinforced to handle this
kind of scenario in the future. While this may sound like a simple task
– it’s not. This will take some time and I do not anticipate launching
this week," he added.
Reports had previously suggested that BlackBerry was gunning for a
summer launch, for both Apple and Android, but this failed to
materialise.
