Finally, BlackBerry Messenger service will be available for Android and iOS as a free app and this is all going to happen this summer.

According to Inside Blackberry, the official BlackBerry blog, BBM will now be offered as text-only service to Android and iOS and all additional features will be subject to approval by Google Play and the Apple App Store. This is good news to BlackBerry users because they can now do BBM with their friends and families that are using different mobile platforms.

As soon as this happens, BBM, iOS and Android users will get to enjoy BBM chats, multi-person chats, voice note sharing and BlackBerry Groups where BBM users are able to set up groups of up to 30 people and share calendar, photos and files.

Executive Vice President, Software Product Management and Ecosystem for BlackBerry explains, "For Blackberry, messaging and collaboration are inseperable from the mobile experience, and the time is definitely right for BBM to become a multi-platform mobile service. BBM has always been one of the most engaging services for BlackBerry customers, enabling them to easily connect while maintaining a valued level of personal privacy. We're excited to offer iOS and Android users the possibility to join the BBM community."

The decision to join BBM with Android and iOS is one surprising move from the company given that BlackBerry Messenger had always been a unique selling point by the company and has always been a strong motivation for loyal users to stay using BlackBerry smartphones.

Jose Vilches of TECHSPOT thinks that even if users have long been waiting for BMM to be available with Android and iOS, the company's decision is way too late especially that there are already more popular chat messaging apps today.

Vilches expresses doubt that "BBM will serve as a hook to get new users on BlackBerry's platform. The company is probably hoping to retain current customers by giving them the ability to communicate with the growing pool of non-blackberry users within their preferred messaging app, but it might end up offering them just the incentive they need to jump ship."

According to facts, BBM service has 60 million users, receiving and sending 10 billion messages every day. The move to make BBM as a free app for iOS and Android is seen to blow this figure in its most potential. But, the figure has still a long way to go to beat competition like WhatsApp, which now has 200 million active users.

Now that BBM is open to all platform users, it faces big challenges from its competitor who have been offering such feature for a long time now. Competitor apps like Kik messenger and line for Android have also predicted their market growth and announce that they welcome competition. Apple's iMessage is pre-installed on all iDevices.

Some investors have already expresses hesitations as they saw a 6% drop in BlackBerry's share price.

Amidst all the mixed reactions, CEO Thorsten Heins remains optimistic, saying that "the time is just right to bring BBM to a greater audience."

Heins was also happy to announce that BBM now comes with "Channels". He explains that "this is a new BBM social network that will let businesses and celebrities create affinity groups." The first channels to be included is the BlackBerry itself, Alicia keys, Goo Goo Dolls, Tegan and Sara.

BBM Channels allow users to interact with their favorite celebrities through following them. Users can also create their own channels that could welcome as many followers as possible. Basically, it works like Twitter.