Wow! BGR is reporting that their sources at Research in Motion (RIM) are telling them that a deal bringing BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to Android devices is DEFINITE. As well, talks are apparently occurring to eventually bring BBM to the iOS running iPhones.

The rumors continue that the software might be FREE on the competing platforms or might require a one time fee or even a recurring fee. However, apparently the strategy for this is still being developed so anything is possible but BGR’s sources at BlackBerry are known to often be on the money when it comes to rumors such as these so there is a high probability of this actually happening.

To be clear, the version of BBM that will come to third-party platforms will not be the full BBM experience that BlackBerry users get. It will allow for instant international text messaging between its users but will not allow for photo, video, and (when RIM launches it) location sharing. The theory as to why RIM would consider doing this, when BBM is a large part of what keeps their devices in people’s hands and stops them from jumping ship to other platforms, is that because of imitators such as Kik and WhatsApp being readily available RIM wants to own the on-device instant messaging space.

However, after all the money RIM must have poured into their marketing campaign specifically highlighting the awesomeness of BBM over the past year I am unsure how this is the right move for them. In my opinion, unless RIM moves to the subscription model for third-party access to BBM and charges a hefty sum - say upwards of $60/year (that’s $5/month) - to use it this isn’t the brightest move. I am a BlackBerry fan and use my BlackBerry Torch as my primary device and absolutely love the ease of use BBM offers me communicating with friends who live all around the world. I don’t know about the bulk of BBM users because I can only speak for myself but I rarely use the media sharing capabilities offered by BBM. Even if I was on a stripped down version of BBM that didn’t offer picture or video sharing I could just tell my friend via BBM to expect it in their email inbox within the next couple of seconds (remember, using BBM requires a data connection anyway) and then ask for their instant feedback via BBM. Sure, it is easier to just send the media via BBM but at the end of the day I don’t really care how I get the media to my friend. In fact, it might even be BETTER to email it to them because then the media isn’t sitting on their device waiting to be transferred over to their computer the next time they connect their device to it. All they would need to do is go to their email inbox and retrieve the (already read) email I sent them when we were discussing the item and download it to their computer - no fuss, no muss.

Unless, as I said above, RIM is charging a heck of a lot of money for the privilege to use BBM on third-party devices this, in my opinion isn’t a great move. If they do charge a boatload of money to allow Android & iOS users access to BBM then it could be a cash cow for them - they won’t be paying to develop/manufacture/warranty/ship/advertise the phones those people are using for BBM, they can even force them into a yearly fee model where they get a bunch of cash up front every year. OR, even better, RIM could make people sign up to use their service for $X/month for 2 years (like a cell phone plan) and if the person wants out charge them an Early Cancellation Fee just like the cellular providers do…maybe they can even tack on a System Access Fee!

What do you think? Good move or bad move for RIM? Are you an Android/iPhone user who is excited about this news? Are you a webOS/Windows Phone 7/Symbian user who feels like they’ve been left out in the cold? Does this news spell the end for Kik and WhatsApp? Stay tuned to find out!

For More Info:

BGR original article which broke this story here