BlackBerry today announced that it is bringing its BBM app to Android devices still running on Gingerbread. With Gingerbread (versions 2.3.3 up to 2.3.7) still accounting for more than a fifth of all Android devices out there, the move should help BlackBerry pick up more than a few more BBM users. This “special release” is now moving to the external beta stage ahead of its official launch in February.
The team at BBM has been busy in the kitchen over the last few months cooking up this special release of BBM for Android smartphones running Gingerbread and are now moving into an external beta ahead of the launch in February. We couldn’t be more excited, too! Supporting Gingerbread will allow millions more Android users to download the popular BBM instant messaging app.
BlackBerry did not reveal exactly what made this version of BBM so special – aside from the fact that it supports a version of Android that is now three years old. It may well be that it will not support all of the functionality offered by the current version of BBM.
Since launching BBM for Android and iOS in October, BlackBerry has added more than 40 million new users. It is also expected to launch BBM Voice in February to the Android and iOS versions of the app.
Source : BlackBerry Insider