[MarcScott]

I don't get why Blackberry would do this. Quite a large number of my students have Blackberry devices (its fairly popular with under 16s still), and when I ask them why, they inevitable lament the awful phone but say they need it as their friends use BBM. Now they have exactly zero reasons to purchase new Blackberrys.

[ceejayoz]

At some point, those folks aren't going to tolerate shitty hardware for BBM, especially as their friends give up on it. Relying on BBM as the sole selling point for hardware is doomed to failure.

[Angostura]

I agree. And yet, and yet... at the moment, it's pretty much all they've got, and they're giving it away.

[shyn3]

Nobody wants a BB device. Our workplace has been trying to push these devices on users for free, and they would rather purchase $750.00 iPhone.

Myself, I love the BlackBerry 10 OS but it is rough around the edges, lack of ecosystem, apps, and hardware isn't the greatest. I think what they are trying to do with BBM is get some brand recognition back and then hopefully sway people over to buy their next gen devices in the future. Even BBM as a service could be enticing, enterprise cloud by BB. Also, BBM will help sell enterprise customers on BB devices because they are able to communicate with their friends on other platforms.

Edit: Anyone else lamenting the fact BBM should have been available 5-years ago should start looking at iMessage in the same terms. At that point it didn't make sense to lose their hardware advantage now they have to throw everything and hope something sticks.

[k_bx]

I think they were inspired by the fact that Skype was sold for more money than Nokia.

[cmsimike]

They are trying to stay relevant.