Android, iOS BBM app delayed by BlackBerry

Another week, another bump in the road for BlackBerry as it faces delays in releasing its messenger app to Android and iPhone platforms.

The leak of an unreleased version of the BlackBerry Messenger app for Android has a glitch that caused a spike in traffic on BlackBerry's back end. While the official version of the app doesn't have the problem, in a blog post, BlackBerry's BBM Executive Vice President Andrew Bocking said the company decided to hold back the release of the official apps until they could block the leaked version.

"The team is now focused on adjusting the system to completely block this unreleased version of the Android app when we go live with the official BBM for Android app," Bocking said. "We are also making sure that the system is reinforced to handle this kind of scenario in the future. While this may sound like a simple task, it's not. This will take some time and I do not anticipate launching this week." BlackBerry has faced a spate of bad news as it announced losses in the first quarter of 2013 and faced declining market share, cuts in staff and as much as $1 billion in losses over unsold Z10 phones.

The BBM app, which would open its once-beloved messaging service to users on other platforms, was seen as a rare bright spot for the company.