BlackBerry Messenger will not be available on iOS and Android on June 27 as clarified by a BlackBerry representative with CNET. According to the representative, "That date is completely inaccurate; we have never indicated a specific date."

According to an official press release from BlackBerry:

On May 14th, BlackBerry announced plans to make its ground-breaking mobile social network, Blackberry Messenger (BBM), available to iOS and Android users this summer, subject to approval by the APPLE App Store and Google Play. While there have been reports that BBM will be available to iOS and Android on June 27th, this is not accurate. We will communicate an update as soon as we have an availability date to share."

The issue sparked because T-Mobile UK had tweeted on Thursday that "BBM would indeed be available for iOS and Android come June 27." The tweet included an image of a BBM conversation happening on a Samsung Android phone. The erroneous tweet had been instantly taken down as BlackBerry denied the truthfulness of the information.

According to CNET, "T-Moblie certainly could have gotten its fact wrong. Or it's conceivable the date may ultimately prove correct, and the carrier simply jumped the gun by revealing it without the official nod from BlackBerry."

However, even with the confusion as to when BBM is going to be available in these two platforms, BBM is indeed coming to Android and iOS users. Patrons will just have to wait for BlackBerry's official announcement.

CEE Thorsten Heins confirmed the good news that BBM will actually be available as a free app, "we are confident time is right for BBM to be independent."

In line with this, BlackBerry Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear told CNET that there are other mobile device manufacturers that expressed interest in preloading BBM onto their devices. Mr Tear said that "The large base of active users is why other handset manufacturers would be interested in having BBM pre-installed on the phone."

Making BBM available to iOS and Android users is a risky move for BlackBerry. This move can either stop BlackBerry's patrons from shifting towards iPhones and Android Phones. Or, this move can entirely make majority of patrons leave BlackBerry since they still have the option of contacting their BBM groups through other device.

But Mr. Tear expressed confidence about the company's decision, "We don't feel that is a risk. Obviously, if we did, we might have acted differently. BlackBerry executives are so confident in BlackBerry 10 that they believe its customers will stick to the platform, and that new users enticed by BBM may make the switch."

Mr. Tear added that "BBM is a strong platform that provides a different way of communicating." The company's main goal for making the platform available to other platforms is for non-BlackBerry users to consider BlackBerry's products again.

When asked about the issue that BBM was a "ghost town" already because many patrons have already abandoned their units for iPhones and Android devices, Mr. Tear confidently said that "BBM has an active user base of 61 million customers around the world, with 70 per cent using it daily."