Last we heard about the possibility for RIM bringing BlackBerry Messenger support to non-RIM smartphone platforms, things were actually looking up for the chances of seeing something like that happen. Rumors about BBM on the iPhone or Android have persisted for years, and despite them never seeming to go anywhere, every so often some new info pops-up that revives the speculation. Back in April, that came as a screenshot supposedly revealing the in-progress Android BBM app. It may not have given us much of an idea on when such software would be released, but at least seemed to suggest that the project really did exist. A new report out today offers some very different news, though, claiming that any progress that might have been made on cross-platform BBM has been put to a halt thanks to new CEO Thorsten Heins.

Supposedly, with Heins at the helm now, any talk of expanding access to BBM is a non-starter. Before his ascension, there was reportedly a lot of talk amongst RIM execs about getting BBM onto other platforms, and setting up the licensing deals that interested parties would need to agree to in order to secure their users access to BBM.

Under Heins, RIM is still apparently heavily invested in BBM, and it’s only the expansion to other platforms that’s getting the cold shoulder. Once BlackBerry 10 arrives, though, who knows how the company’s priorities will shift, so we might still have hope for iOS or Android BBM, but further down the line.

Source: Wall Street Journal
Via: MobileSyrup