BlackBerry Pulls BBM App for iPhone and Android

Following a brutal Friday when BlackBerry announced 4,500 layoffs and a loss of nearly $1 billion in its second quarter, the company hit pause on the rollout of its BBM apps for iPhone and Android.

Just a few hours after launching the BBM app on the App Store in New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, India and the United Arab Emirates, BlackBerry removed it, citing an early Android leak

In a blog post on its website, BlackBerry explained the issue:

Prior to launching BBM for Android, an unreleased version of the BBM for Android app was posted online. The interest and enthusiasm we have seen already — more than 1.1 million active users in the first 8 hours without even launching the official Android app — is incredible. Consequently, this unreleased version caused issues, which we have attempted to address throughout the day. Our teams continue to work around the clock to bring BBM to Android and iPhone, but only when it’s ready and we know it will live up to your expectations of BBM. Read more...