Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) founder Mike Lazaridis told yesterday in a Bloomberg Canada Economic Summit, in Toronto, that users of iPhone and other devices will surely like the company’s BlackBerry Messenger platform, reports Bloomberg. The Messenger platform from Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) will be available on rival devices later this year.
Lazaridis, who stepped down from the post of co-chief executive officer in early 2012, told “BBM is by far the most compelling wireless experience and wireless social-networking environment.”
Research In Motion (BBRY)’s BBM on Rival Devices
Last week the Ontario based firm announced plans to introduce within a few months, Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s BBM service on rival iPhone and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Android operating. The messaging service is presently used by some 60 million BlackBerry users, who on an average send 10 billion messages a day.
The new move to make available its most valuable services on rival devices has been viewed as a big gamble by some of the experts. Many believe the company will lose the control on its most popular service, other question the monetary benefit of such a move. Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) told last week that the move will create more opportunities for advertisers to target users by sponsoring posts.
Defends Heins
On the decision by the current CEO Thorsten Heins of making messaging service into a stand-alone application, Lazaridis said it reflects the confidence in the new platform that it is attractive enough to pull users without the exclusivity of BBM.
“He’s speaking to the confidence he has in the platform,” Lazaridis said.
Focusing on Quantum-computing
After stepping down from his post and exiting the board in March, Lazaridis has been dedicating most of his time to quantum-computing and nanotechnology, which is the study of things approaching the size of an atom.
“After nearly 30 years at the helm, I think it’s time for me to start something new,” he said.
Together with Doug Fregin, an old friend and co-founder of BlackBerry, Lazaridis started a $100 million ($97 million) fund called Quantum Valley Investments, in March. The objective of the fund is to turn researches from numerous centers into a viable business opportunity. In September, the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre was inaugurated in Waterloo, to which he donated $100 million.
Making reference to Canada’s technology industry, Lazaridis said “We effectively missed the first quantum revolution, which was the silicon revolution” and they cannot afford to miss the next one.
