Android and iOS users finally get the goods as BBM 2.0 has arrived.

Android and iOS users finally get the goods as BBM 2.0 has arrived. Starting later today, BlackBerry, iPhone and Android users will be able to download an updated BBM that includes BBM Channels, BBM Voice, local sharing with Glympse, Dropbox integration and much more. The update will bring things up to speed with the native BBM app on BlackBerry and make for some happy cross-platform users.

We'll have plenty more on this one soon so stay tuned — in the meantime, check out the full press release below.

Press Release
BBM Voice and BBM Channels Now Available for Android and iPhone Customers
New features also include simple file and photo sharing, location sharing, over 100 new emoticons and Dropbox integration for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry Smartphones

WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - February 13, 2014) - A new version of BBM™ will be available later today for Android™, iPhone and BlackBerry® (NASDAQ: BBRY)(TSX: BB) customers, giving them lots of exciting new features. Android and iPhone customers will now be able to make free voice calls to BBM contacts over a Wi-Fi® or data connection with BBM Voice(i), as well as access BBM Channels. In addition, BBM customers on Android, iPhone and BlackBerry(ii) smartphones will have more to chat about with fast one-click sharing of photos, documents, voice notes and more. BBM customers will also be able to share their live location for a specified amount of time with other BBM contacts by using location sharing, powered by Glympse, and will have 100 new emoticons available to help them say what's on their mind.

"BBM continues to deliver new functionality as a premier messaging platform that provides a simple and effective way to stay connected. Today's announcement gives Android and iPhone customers the rich experience of BBM Voice and BBM Channels - two great ways to connect with friends, family and colleagues, to build out communities around shared interests, and to follow your favorite people and brands," said John Sims, President, Global Enterprise Solutions at BlackBerry. "BBM continues to quickly evolve as a social mobile platform for consumers as well as for business customers through innovative features that give you great new ways to connect and share with each other."

BBM Channels

BBM Channels lets customers chat with other BBM users about topics that interest them. Customers can join channels about a range of topics from products, hobbies and sports to entertainment, fashion, cars and more. Channels can be created by brands, businesses and BBM customers alike and are a great way to communicate directly and immediately with people who share common interests in the broader BBM community.

By posting to their channel, channel owners immediately reach their subscribers with a message that can spark discussions. "Scheduled chat hours" allow BBM customers to have live chats with the channel owner - a great way to engage directly with their favorite channels one on one.

BBM Channels maintains the BBM core values of immediacy, privacy and control. Because BBM Channels live right inside BBM, BBM customers get notified the moment one of the channels they follow has a new post, or when someone responds to their comments.

With BBM Channels, customers can engage with brands or other customers without having to add them to their contact lists, thereby maintaining a high level of privacy. With BBM Channels, customers have the discretion to opt in only to channel brands that are relevant to them and always have control over the channels they subscribe to, while channel owners have control over how subscribers interact with their channel.

For brands and businesses, BBM Channels provides a new way to interact and connect with a highly engaged and targeted mobile audience. There are thousands of brands already using BBM Channels to engage with their customers. More on BBM Channels:

Open, yet private. Channel owners control the conversation on their channels. Channel owners can choose to: allow subscribers to comment on posts freely or to approve them first; let subscribers chat with them directly anytime, or set chat hours; they can interact with subscribers without ever giving out personal details, or adding them as a personal BBM Contact. And with private channels, channel owners can keep in touch with closer circles on an invite-only basis.
Channel reporting. Each channel has its own performance dashboard built right in. Channel owners can see stats on how subscribers are engaging with their channel, how many people have viewed each post and how the subscriber base is growing.
It's fast and easy. Start a channel right from a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android smartphone. It only takes a few minutes to set up a BBM Channel and once it is set up, posting to it is as simple as choosing a photo and adding a short message
Location Sharing

With location sharing powered by Glympse, customers can now share their real-time location with one or several BBM contacts for a specified amount of time - perfect for when people are running late, out with friends and more. BBM puts control in the customers' hands, allowing them to specify how long they want to share their location for, by setting a timer. When the timer runs out the customers' location becomes private again.

Dropbox Support

Built-in support for Dropbox™ makes it easy to send large files like presentations and videos. With Dropbox built in to BBM, you can send a file from your personal cloud directly to a BBM contact. On the receiving end, you can save the file directly to your smartphone or add it to your Dropbox account.

Emoticons

BBM customers have been asking for more emoticons, and now more than 100 new emoticons have been added to help you express yourself. Many of the new emoticons came from ideas submitted by customers!

BBM continues to connect friends, family and colleagues across a myriad of mobile networks, as the standard for mobile instant messaging with a fast, reliable, and engaging experience that puts control of privacy and personal information back in the customers' hands.

BlackBerry 10 Application Permissions explained

When you install applications on your BlackBerry 10 device, there are certain bits of information that the app may need explicit access to in order to work. For most users, clicking through the permissions dialog window that pops up after installing from BlackBerry World is an automatic response. For the more privacy-conscious, this window can be a deal-breaker. Let's take a minute to dive into what kind of permissions apps need from your device and what they can actually do with that information.

First, let's check out the kinds of permissions that apps can call upon from the Cascades developer documentation. Some of these will allow an app to simply read the data on your device, while others enable it to write and edit information.

Background processing: Perform background processing. Without this permission, your app stops all processing when the user switches focus to another app.
BlackBerry Messenger: Connect to BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). You can use this permission to access contact lists and user profiles, invite BBM contacts to download your app, initiate BBM chats and share content from within your app, and stream data between apps.
Calendar: Access the calendar on the device. This access includes viewing, adding, and deleting calendar appointments.
Camera: Access data that's received from the cameras on the device. With this permission, your app can take pictures, record videos, and use the flash.
Contacts: Access the contacts that are stored on the device. This access includes viewing, creating, and deleting contacts.
Device identifying information: Access unique device identifiers, such as PIN and serial number.
Email and PIN messages: Access the email and PIN messages that are stored on the device. This access includes viewing, creating, sending, and deleting messages.
Internet: Use the Internet connection from a Wi-Fi, wired, or other type of connection to access locations that are not local on the device.
Location: Access the current location of the device, as well as locations that the user has saved.
Microphone: Access the audio stream from the microphone on the device.
Narrow swipe up: Reduce the width of the region along the bottom bezel of the device that accepts swipe-up gestures. When you use this permission, swipe-up gestures are recognized in a more narrow area along the bottom bezel. This behavior allows apps that run in landscape orientation, such as games, to use corner regions for menus and virtual gamepads and prevents the game from inadvertently being sent to the background.
Notebooks: Access the content that's stored in notebooks on the device. This access includes adding entries to, and deleting entries from, the notebooks.
Notifications: Post notifications to the notification area of the device screen.
Phone: Access phone features on the device. This access includes requesting the dial pad, initiating a call, and sending DTMF tones.
Push: Access the Push Service with the BlackBerry Internet Service. This access allows an app to receive and request push messages.
Shared files: Read and write files that are shared between all applications on the device. With this permission, your app can access pictures, music, documents, and other files that are stored on the user's device, at a remote storage provider, or on a media card.
Text messages: Access the text messages that are stored on the device. This access includes viewing, creating, sending, and deleting text messages.
Permissions screens in BlackBerry 10

Now, that may sure seem like a lot of options, but don't worry, most apps will only require a few (if any) of these. Also, many of these permissions are optional, and can be unchecked at the installation prompt or revoked from Application Permissions settings on your BlackBerry 10 device. Just keep in mind the app might not function as advertised if you block certain feature-vital permissions. It's also worth noting that application developers themselves do not (or at least shouldn't) remotely store and read any information gleaned from your device. Here are just a few of the app behaviors prohibited by BlackBerry.

Write or read files outside of the application sandbox, unless via calls to public APIs.
Store unnecessary files in the shared directory. Files that shouldn't be stored in the shared directory include executable code (including libraries and interpreted code), temporary files, and app private files (such as files that only your app reads).
Change the file permissions of files.
Show disturbing/adult graphics or play sounds without user consent.
Perform information phishing. For example, asking for device password, PIN, or other confidential information.
Operate in a manner without user consent or authorization, such as sending information to Internet servers or listening to sockets.
In the terms of service, BlackBerry makes a point to remind developers to have a highly visible privacy policy of their own, and that they comply with local internet privacy legislation. In fact, BlackBerry World and other app stores don't tend to be especially culpable for privacy breaches by apps - most of that blame resides with the developers.

So that's a quick look at how permissions are handled in BlackBerry 10. BlackBerry obviously tries their best to police the ecosystem, but the onus is ultimately on developers to not abuse the permissions system, otherwise they could get in hot legal water

BlackBerry launches BBM for Android, iPhone

BlackBerry has officially launched its popular messaging service for Android and iPhone.
BBM was released for download on Monday on Google Play, the App Store and in select Samsung App Stores.
The user will then be contacted when they reach the front of the line and can begin using BBM.
“We are bringing the most engaging mobile messaging platform to all, with our BBM launch for Android and iPhone,” the company said in an open letter on Twitter Oct. 14.
BlackBerry had previously stated that 70 per cent of its customers used BBM.

BlackBerry Launches Documents To Go BES 10 Edition For Android And iOS

Now you can use Documents To Go BES 10 Edition on your Android or Iphone.
If you use BlackBerry Work Spaces this will be a nice addition.
The app description notes the importance of BES10: IMPORTANT NOTE: The Documents To Go for BES10 application WILL NOT OPERATE unless your organization has the necessary back-end BlackBerry Enterprise software.
In other words, they are saying you must already have BlackBerry Enterprise software or this won’t work properly.
This is only for the BES Editions because you can also get just regular Documents To Go.

Transfer Your Information From iPhone Or Android To BlackBerry Z10

BlackBerry has published some documentation in a step-by-step tutorial showing you how to make the transfer to the BlackBerry Z10 device very easy.
Switching from an iPhone to a BlackBerry Z10 

Transferring your information from your iPhone to your new BlackBerry ®10 device is simple and straightforward. Just follow the instructions below.
Transferring Music
Get your music on your new BlackBerry Z10:
1. Sync your iPhone with iTunes on your computer.
2. Download BlackBerry Link and connect your BlackBerry Z10 to your computer with a USB cable.
Ensure you select iTunes as your BlackBerry Link music source.
3. Open BlackBerry Link, navigate to the Music content view, and then drag and drop music from the
Desktop tab to the BlackBerry tab while your BlackBerry Z10 is connected.

Transferring Pictures and Videos
Get your photos and videos on your new BlackBerry Z10:
1. Transfer photos and videos from iOS devices to your computer.
2. Download BlackBerry Link and connect your BlackBerry Z10 to your computer with a USB cable.
Ensure you select iTunes as your BlackBerry Link content source.
3. Open BlackBerry Link and click on the Desktop tab:
• For Windows, navigate to your Pictures and Videos content views and add the folders that store
your imported content.
• For Mac users, BlackBerry Link sources the library content from your iTunes and iPhoto
applications. Ensure your imported content is included in your iPhoto and iTunes libraries.
4. From your Desktop tab, navigate to your Pictures and Videos content view. Drag and drop the
imported content to your BlackBerry tab while your BlackBerry Z10 is connected

Setting Up Email, Calendar, and Contacts
1. On your new BlackBerry 10 device, go to Settings, and click on Accounts.
2. Click Add Account, and enter your email address and password.
3. Your email, calendar, and contact from this account will now start to transfer to your BlackBerry Z10.
** For calendar items and contacts that are stored in your iPhone memory, search for how to synchronize
them with an email account, such as Windows Live™ Hotmail®, Gmail®, or Yahoo!®. When they’ve
synchronized with your email account, add that email account to your BlackBerry Z10 and everything will
be transferred.

Switching from an Android Device (Galaxy, Droid, Nexus, etc.) to a BlackBerry Z10

Transferring information from your Android device to your new BlackBerry® Z10 is simple and straightforward. Just follow the instructions below.
Transferring Files

There are two options for transferring the files on your Android device to your new BlackBerry® 10 smartphone.
Option 1: Drag & Drop
For Windows® Users
You can drag and drop files from your Android device to your BlackBerry Z10:
1. Connect both your Android device and your BlackBerry Z10 to your PC.
2. Open Windows®
Explorer by clicking Start > Accessories > Windows Explorer
3. Drag and drop files between the two devices.
For Mac Users
You can drag and drop from your Android device to your BlackBerry Z10:
1. Connect your BlackBerry Z10 to your Mac.
2. Download BlackBerry Link when prompted. If you’re not prompted, download it from
www.blackberry.com/blackberrylink.
3. When BlackBerry Link is installed, you should see two new icons on your desktop: Media and
Removable_SDCARD.
4. Click on your Android device and drag and drop files into the Media and Removable_SDCARD folders
on your desktop.
** If you don’t see these folders, open Finder. Your BlackBerry 10 device will appear as IP address
169.254.X.X. Drag files from your Android device to the folders in IP address 169.254.X.X (which is what
your BlackBerry Z10 is called in Finder).
Transferring Media Card Files (Music, Pictures, and Videos)
You may be able to transfer files stored on a microSD card (media card) in your Android device to your
new BlackBerry Z10. Simply take it out of your phone and insert it into your BlackBerry Z10.
If you’re prompted to reformat your media card, first make sure to save the files on your media card to your
computer. Here’s how you do it:
1. Insert your media card into your Android device.
2. Save the items from your media card onto your computer by using iTunes, Windows Media Player,
Windows Explorer, or Finder on Mac.
3. Insert your media card into your BlackBerry Z10 and if prompted, reformat the media card.
4. If the media card had to be reformatted, download BlackBerry Link and connect your BlackBerry Z10
to your computer using a USB cable.
5. Open BlackBerry Link, add the media and documents that you had copied over to your computer from
your Android device, and then drag and drop content from the Desktop tab to the BlackBerry tab while
your BlackBerry Z10 is connected.

There you have it!