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BlackBerry considers breaking BBM off into new company

Published Aug 27th, 2013 11:00AM EDT
BlackBerry BBM Spinoff

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BlackBerry is seemingly on the verge of finally releasing BlackBerry Messenger for the iPhone and Android devices. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, however, the company may have even bigger plans for BBM. The Journal on Tuesday reported that BlackBerry is considering spinning its BlackBerry Messenger division off into a separate company called “BBM Inc.” that would operate as a BlackBerry subsidiary with more independence than it currently has. The company is also once again considering expanding BBM beyond BlackBerry, iOS and Android devices to desktop computers, according to the report. “We have announced our plans to offer this trusted mobile messaging service to iPhone and Android users sometime this summer,” a BlackBerry spokeswoman said in response to the report. “We have made no further announcements.” Breaking BBM off into a new company is one of many different ideas being tossed around as BlackBerry looks to recover from its current downturn.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.