BBM coming to Samsung Galaxy devices in Africa soon

While BlackBerry has already said to have started trials of a cross-platform version of its popular messaging service, BlackBerry Messenger or BBM, in a new development, Samsung has announced that the messenger will be available on the company's app store that comes preloaded on its Galaxy series of Android devices, and on the Google Play Store, across the African continent.

With this announcement, BBM will form a part of Samsung Messaging Hub that already offers various propriety and third party messaging services including ChatOn.

George Ferreira, VP and COO of Samsung Electronics Africa said, "It is important to strike a balance between developing high-tech smartphones that carry brands in to the future and creating a sustainable ecosystem that primarily supports the needs of consumers that use these devices. Value added services are considered a prerequisite in the fast-paced, challenging environment that exists today and as a result, we will continue to drive innovation through our smart hub functionalities to ensure our consumers have the choice which they desire."

The availability of BBM on Galaxy smartphones in Africa will offer Samsung consumers access to the BBM service that includes BBM chats and BBM Groups, which allows users to create groups of up to 30 people, and offers the ability to share photos and voice notes.

Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President BBM at BlackBerry said on the announcement, "BBM provides one of the best and most robust mobile messaging experiences today. BBM has always set the standard for mobile instant messaging and we are thrilled to bring this experience to Samsung customers across Africa. Samsung customers will soon join the BBM nation in its love of the "D" and "R" notifications."

Samsung had also agreed to join marketing efforts to showcase BBM for Android to customers and to mobile users across Africa, notes the press release. At launch, the app will be available for download from the Samsung app stores and the Google Play Store, for free.

While there's been no official announcement, it appears that Samsung and BlackBerry have signed a deal to offer the service exclusively on the former's platform in Africe, at least for some time. It's not clear if the app would also be available for non-Samsung devices through the Play Store, in Africa. It's also not known when the BBM service would be rolled out internationally.

A few days back we had reported about BlackBerry Messenger for Android being spotted online and some users reportedly getting invites. BlackBerry had earlier announced that it will extend its popular messaging service BlackBerry Messenger, lovingly abbreviated as BBM, to Android and iOS platforms by summer.