The software will land in both Google Play and Samsung Apps portals

Aug 5, 2013 18:46 GMT  ·  By

Today, South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung Electronics officially announced that the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) application would soon become available for download for all Galaxy smartphones across Africa.

The software will become available for download for free through both the Google Play store and the Samsung Apps portal, the company says.

BlackBerry’s popular BBM service was already known to be on its way to the Android platform before the end of this summer, yet Samsung is aparently the first manufacturer to have announced full support for it.

“At Samsung we are all about collaboration, innovation and driving consumer experience based on choice, value and customization to suit every lifestyle,” George Ferreira, VP and COO of Samsung Electronics Africa, said.

“As such, bringing a top tier messaging service such as BBM is another way that we are expanding the catalogue of our messaging services and offering customers an amazing way to stay instantly connected with colleagues, friends and family.”

The company also announced that BBM would become part of Samsung Messaging Hub, which already included both property and third party messaging services.

The availability of BBM for Galaxy users in Africa will provide expanded social networking options, through access to the BBM user base and features, including BBM chats, multi-person chats and BBM Groups.

Furthermore, BlackBerry and Samsung said that they would be working together to bring the BBM service to Galaxy users in more markets in Africa. The application will be provided at no cost to all of them.

“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,” said Andrew Bocking, executive vice president BBM at BlackBerry.

“BBM is loved by people who rely on fast, trusted messaging, along with the immediacy that our delivered and read statuses bring. Samsung customers will soon join the BBM nation in its love of the “D” and “R” notifications.”