On 18th September 2013, Blackberry released a press statement that “BBM will be available as a free download for Android smartphones running Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean (Android 4.x) beginning at 7AM EDT on September 21. BBM for iPhones running iOS 6 and iOS 7 will become available for each market on the App Store schedule of 12:01 AM local time on September 22.”

7AM EDT on September 21st came and gone but the rollout of BBM on Google Play did not launch as planned. iPhone users in Australasia, Asia and certain regions of Middle East were able to get their hands on BBM for iOS until it was abruptly withdrawn by the company.

14 hours into the launch, Blackberry made an announcement via its blog that the launch of BBM for Android and iPhone has been suspended due to issues with leaked android versions of BBM. Blackberry claims that “these issues have not impacted BBM service for BlackBerry”. If that was the case, I wonder why they decided to suspend the rollout of the app for iPhone users too.

I can’t help but feel that whilst there is monetary value in BBM, it is diminishing rapidly by the incompetency of Blackberry senior management. No one can plan for all eventualities but the least one can do it is ensure timely and constant communication to the public.

It is ironic that the tagline for BBM on Twitter is “BBM is for active, real conversations. It’s free, instant and always connected. Your messages are delivered and read in seconds. You trust it. You control it.” In this instance, BBM is inactive and definitely not something that users can either trust or control.

This is one instance where silence is not golden.