The recent upgrade to Research In Motion's (RIM's) instant messaging service, BBM version 6 (BBM 6), was promptly followed by user complaints.
While RIM admits that customers experienced problems, the company declined to say what had caused the problems. RIM on Tuesday said the service was up and running normally.
Alongside the update issues, RIM was targeted by a hoax message which instructed BBM users to forward the note to all their contacts in order for their BBM to be updated, adding that failure to do so would result in the deactivation of their accounts and the loss of contacts.
RIM confirmed that the message did not originate from the company and that the issues with the BBM update were not related to the hoax message.
The company says the update aims to encourage more developers to develop mobile applications on the BlackBerry platform because it provides support for 'BBM connected' apps. According to RIM, BBM has over 45 million active users.
Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, believes the glitches will not impact the uptake of BBM or BlackBerry in SA. He speculates that the issues might have been caused by the massive growth in BBM.
However, Goldstuck points out that the issue was not that the problems occurred, but that RIM did not communicate reasons for the problems.
“A year ago, it would have been a minor inconvenience for a very small proportion of users. Today, it is one of the dominant instant messaging systems, and imposes a greater responsibility on the distributors,” says Goldstuck.
BBM 6 is available for free and can be downloaded here.
Share