Asking the question "Are you excited about BBM coming to iOS and Android?" on the app Thumb gave some interesting results.
The majority seemed to care less if BBM was cross-platform. I know that back when I had a blackberry, I was obsessed with it to the level where I was very hesitant towards switching to an iPhone even though I absolutely hated everything else about my blackberry tour. Of course I ended up switching and I don't regret it whatsoever, however I know that if BBM was available back then, I wouldn't have even thought twice about the switch. Fast forward 3 years later, BBM has become a thing of the past to me, in fact I can't think of one reason why I used to like it. A part of me will wait for the app to launch everywhere out of curiosity, I want to remember why I loved it so much. I personally know a few people that still use BBM because it helps them communicate with family members in other countries where low budget phones dominate but other than that not many are as loyal anymore.
That is where the problem is, a lot of people have forgotten about BBM or have lost interest even if they once were addicted to it, and with the declining user base of blackberry users, it is a logical move to expand the user base even if it means offering it to competitors especially with other meessengers gaining on BBM's territory such as iMessege, WhatsApp and more, including Google's rumored messenger (Google Hangouts). No one can really predict how things will go for Blackberry and BBM, maybe they'll win back their old customers or maybe they won't, and who knows, they might some new ones, only time will tell.
