It was first hinted last month, and now it’s become official: BlackBerry has just announced that it’s popular BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) will come preinstalled on the LG G Pro Lite from LG, the first smartphone from the company to feature the messaging app. A deal was struck between the two companies that involves both standard and virtual preloading using LG’s App Manager. Of course, the application will still be free to download in these cases.
“BBM is widely used throughout the Middle East, Africa and Indonesia where smartphone users tend to engage heavily in social networking,” said Kevin Shin, Vice President of Marketing for Asia, the Middle East and CIS countries of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “The LG G Pro Lite offers an optimized BBM experience with its large, high quality display and embedded Stylus Pen.”
“People across the globe are using BBM to connect with each other and the enthusiasm has been phenomenal.”
“People across the globe are using BBM to connect with each other and the enthusiasm has been phenomenal,” said Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President for BBM at BlackBerry. “We’re extremely pleased that LG Electronics will help bring their customers a more seamless experience with BBM by preloading the app, starting with the G Pro Lite in key markets.”
BBM has soared in popularity on the Android and iOS platforms. The application has seen an addition of 20 million users since its cross platform release and is one of the most highly demanded features by Windows Phone users.
BlackBerry says the app will continue to evolve for Android and iPhone users in the coming months, with updates that will include support for BBM Channels, a new service that connects BBM users to communities of shared interests in a very engaging and intimate manner, as well as support for BBM Voice calling and BBM Video calling.