BlackBerry adds Channels and Voice to the iOS and Android versions of BBM

BlackBerry Messenger users can tap into a potpourri of new features when the app is updated on Thursday. Slated to reach iOS and Android users, version 2.0 of  BBM will bring with it BBM Voice, a way to call your BBM contacts. Already available for BlackBerry OS, BBM Voice gives you the ability to make free phone calls to other BBM users via your Wi-Fi or data connection.

BlackBerry announced today that it would be adding Channels and Voice to the iOS and Android versions of its highly popular BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service in a new 2.0 release. Has BBM now become the company’s killer product? Although it’s been trying to create excitement around its BlackBerry 10 platform and devices, the Canadian company has not found the popularity for those products that it has for the cross-platform BBM. And no wonder: BBM is an addictive, useful instant-messaging tool that runs on iPhones and Android devices, while Blackberry 10 is a dying phone OS with minuscule market share.