****Update****

Turns out the story was indeed a hoax and a mean one at that; word comes from BGR, stating they reached out to a contact at RIM who had this to say: “RIM did not hold a conference in Toronto this week, and Jim Balsillie did not speak at any event in Toronto this week.” We’re not saying it isn’t coming at some point in the future, but BlackBerry Messenger is definitely not hitting the App Store on April 26th”. — well, it was a good one while it lasted, right?

****End Update****

Well, folks, the rumor may actually be true: BBM for iOS could become a reality; landing on your devices as early as April 26th via the App Store, according to a posting left in MacRumors forums:

“RIM had a Social Media conference today in Toronto, and my entire college business and marketing class was invited to the event. RIM’s co-ceo Jim Balsillie revealed that they plan to bring BBM and “other services” to iPhone on April 26 via the app store. Balsillie also revealed that they plan to release an update to the app this summer which will take advantage of a new “notification system”!

Rumors have been going around for almost a month now that RIM is caving under the immense cross-platform IM demand happening in the iOS and Android community. Although it wouldn’t be the full BBM we have all grown to know and love — actually, a very stripped down version, similar to the one found in OS4 without pictures or possibility of media sharing — it would be a working version for both iOS and Android respectively.

Some insiders are even going as far to say that the Android version is ready to go, and may actually hit Android before iOS gets its cake.

This leaves me with the following question, one that maybe you can answer? Is implementing BBM across all OS’s a good thing for RIM to do? Considering it has become a major influence in many users actually not wanting to give up their BlackBerry’s, myself included. I guess we will have to wait until April 26th; till then, leave a comment with your thoughts.

[via 9to5mac]

[update via BGR]