BBM Android and iPhone app available to download, finally

The BlackBerry Messenger app for Android and iPhone is finally here -- but even when you download BBM for your iPhone or Android phone, BlackBerry will still keep you waiting. Read on for all the details and links to download the long-awaited app!

Head over to Google Play, the Apple App Store and, in some areas, the Samsung App Store, and you should be able to download BBM and install it on your phone. But after you've installed the app, there's a queue to activate it. Enter your email address and when you reach the front of the line, BlackBerry will email you to let you know you can finally get chatting with your BBM bestest buds.

BBM for iPhone is optimised for iOS7, so it'll work on updated iPhones and the new iPhone 5S and 5C. Meanwhile BBM for Android includes new features like the BBM chat widget, which allows you to keep up with chats without having to open the app.

BlackBerry has certainly made us wait for BBM to cross the park to other phones. It was originally scheduled to debut weeks ago, but after missing the launch time, BlackBerry admitted it wasn't ready and postponed the big day. Sadly fraudsters got their act together quicker, targeting eager ex-BlackBerry owners with ads, spam or worse. For some reason Google failed to clear out the fakes, drawing criticism from experts.

As of today though, the fakes appear to be gone. Click here to download BBM for Android, and click here to download BBM for iPhone.

If you're in selected parts of Africa, the app is exclusively available via Samsung App Stores for the next three days.

Are you going back to BlackBerry? What's the best chat app? And will this encourage people to embrace BlackBerry, or does this kill the last reason to actually buy a BlackBerry? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or chat to us on our Facebook page.