In a significant development, India’s top domestic
smartphone vendor Micromax has officially tied
up with Canadian smartphone vendor BlackBerry
to preinstall BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) on
Canvas range of smartphones. The mobile messaging service application will
come pre-loaded on new Micromax smartphones
from the first week of October. However,
existing Canvas users can download the BBM for
Android app from the Google Play Store. The announcement has come at a time when
global messaging app providers are aggressively
tying up with both tier 1 and tier 2 smartphone
vendors in the country. In the past 12 months,
three free messaging service providers started
their operations in the country, including Chinese Tencent’s WeChat, Japanese Naver’s LINE and
India’s own Bharti Softbank funded hike. (See: The Great Messaging War Comes To India) Presently, all these companies are testing the
waters in the country and two of them—WeChat
and LINE—have also started aggressive television
campaigns to promote their offerings and have
already formed alliances with handset vendors in
the country. Yesterday, Sony India announced a special
association with LINE messaging app, under
which the application will exclusively be
preinstalled in the latest Xperia Z1 smartphone. “Bringing one of the most popular mobile
messaging services with BBM on our
smartphones is yet another effort to expand our
bouquet of messaging services for our
consumers to connect and communicate
seamlessly with their loved ones,” said Deepak Mehrotra, CEO, Micromax. The executive said that Micromax will ensure that
its customers have preferential access to the
latest and most exciting applications such as the
BBM in the future as well. “We are delighted to work with Micromax to
bring BBM to their customers directly on Canvas
smartphones across India,” Sunil Lalvani,
Managing Director - India at BlackBerry
commented on the partnership. With the arrival of BBM on the Canvas
smartphones, Micromax customers will now
have access to the BBM mobile social network
around the world, including features such as BBM
chats and multi-person chats with BBM Groups,
which allow customers to connect with up to 30 BBM contacts at a time, as well as the ability to
share voice notes and photographs. “This is a very good development for BlackBerry
and it is time that the company explored more
such tie-ups with other vendors as well. BBM has
had a strong following historically and the app in
this form stands a good chance of being adopted
by those who moved away from BlackBerry handsets to other smartphones for various other
reasons,” said Deepak Kumar, Founder Analyst at
BusinessandMarket.net. The application is officially coming on Android
and iOS platforms this weekend and will be a free
to download app. (See: BBM On Android, iPhone: A Passage To Software Begins? ) With the foray in the open messaging app
segment, BBM will vying with Facebook
Messenger, WhatsApp, Line, WeChat and hike
among others. While Micromax is the first domestic partnership
for BlackBerry, it is expected that several other
alliances will be formed on both domestic and
global front, given the popularity of BlackBerry
Messenger service. There are messaging app providers that have
formed special pacts with telecom services
providers in the country. WhatsApp, Facebook
and Nimbuzz have already formed partnerships
with a number of telcos in India, including the
incumbent—Bharti Airtel to increase their user base. In order to garner more eyeballs and bring more
users on the BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry
may tie up with India telcos. The company has
already been working with Indian telcos for
enterprise and internet services. source LightReading mobile - Home
smartphone vendor Micromax has officially tied
up with Canadian smartphone vendor BlackBerry
to preinstall BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) on
Canvas range of smartphones. The mobile messaging service application will
come pre-loaded on new Micromax smartphones
from the first week of October. However,
existing Canvas users can download the BBM for
Android app from the Google Play Store. The announcement has come at a time when
global messaging app providers are aggressively
tying up with both tier 1 and tier 2 smartphone
vendors in the country. In the past 12 months,
three free messaging service providers started
their operations in the country, including Chinese Tencent’s WeChat, Japanese Naver’s LINE and
India’s own Bharti Softbank funded hike. (See: The Great Messaging War Comes To India) Presently, all these companies are testing the
waters in the country and two of them—WeChat
and LINE—have also started aggressive television
campaigns to promote their offerings and have
already formed alliances with handset vendors in
the country. Yesterday, Sony India announced a special
association with LINE messaging app, under
which the application will exclusively be
preinstalled in the latest Xperia Z1 smartphone. “Bringing one of the most popular mobile
messaging services with BBM on our
smartphones is yet another effort to expand our
bouquet of messaging services for our
consumers to connect and communicate
seamlessly with their loved ones,” said Deepak Mehrotra, CEO, Micromax. The executive said that Micromax will ensure that
its customers have preferential access to the
latest and most exciting applications such as the
BBM in the future as well. “We are delighted to work with Micromax to
bring BBM to their customers directly on Canvas
smartphones across India,” Sunil Lalvani,
Managing Director - India at BlackBerry
commented on the partnership. With the arrival of BBM on the Canvas
smartphones, Micromax customers will now
have access to the BBM mobile social network
around the world, including features such as BBM
chats and multi-person chats with BBM Groups,
which allow customers to connect with up to 30 BBM contacts at a time, as well as the ability to
share voice notes and photographs. “This is a very good development for BlackBerry
and it is time that the company explored more
such tie-ups with other vendors as well. BBM has
had a strong following historically and the app in
this form stands a good chance of being adopted
by those who moved away from BlackBerry handsets to other smartphones for various other
reasons,” said Deepak Kumar, Founder Analyst at
BusinessandMarket.net. The application is officially coming on Android
and iOS platforms this weekend and will be a free
to download app. (See: BBM On Android, iPhone: A Passage To Software Begins? ) With the foray in the open messaging app
segment, BBM will vying with Facebook
Messenger, WhatsApp, Line, WeChat and hike
among others. While Micromax is the first domestic partnership
for BlackBerry, it is expected that several other
alliances will be formed on both domestic and
global front, given the popularity of BlackBerry
Messenger service. There are messaging app providers that have
formed special pacts with telecom services
providers in the country. WhatsApp, Facebook
and Nimbuzz have already formed partnerships
with a number of telcos in India, including the
incumbent—Bharti Airtel to increase their user base. In order to garner more eyeballs and bring more
users on the BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry
may tie up with India telcos. The company has
already been working with Indian telcos for
enterprise and internet services. source LightReading mobile - Home
