BlackBerry says BBM for Android 2.3 Gingerbread will launch in February

BlackBerry, the popular Canadian smartphone brand, is all set to bring its BBM or Blackberry Messenger service to Android-powered handsets running the OS version 2.3 Gingerbread. The messaging service was earlier only available for devices running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or higher.

"We've got some exciting BBM news for Android Gingerbread users - you've been asking and we've heard you loud and clear. We're now pleased to announce that BBM will soon also be available on Android Devices running Gingerbread (v2.3.3+)," stated Jeff Gadway, head of product and brand marketing of BBM, on Blackberry's official blog.

BBM for Android Gingerbread OS is currently moving into an external Beta testing ahead of its launch next month. Gadway also mentioned that currently "Gingerbread represented about 21 percent of the total Android platform" which is quite a good number to rollout the BBM, according to the firm.

It has been previously reported that as early as February, BlackBerry may introduce the missing BBM Voice and BBM Channels features on both the Android and iOS platforms.

Additionally, the Canadian mobile maker is said to have revealed recently that it does not have plans to launch the popular BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) app on Windows Phone-based smartphones.

Trusted Reviews quotes BlackBerry's Senior Director of BBM Business Development, David Proulx, as saying the nonexistence of a BBM application for Windows Phone was "entirely market driven," and stated that the decision is not a "religious thing," but is instead merely a choice made on the basis of a lack of consumer demand.