It was last reported that there were over 10 million downloads of BBM for Android and BBM for iPhone in the first hours of launch. Now BlackBerry has released a new figure claiming that it now has over 20 million new users on Android and iPhone devices.
With the addition of the new 20 million BBM users, BlackBerry says that it now has over 80 million monthly active users across multiple platforms including BlackBerry 7, BlackBerry 10, Android and iOS.
During its first week, BBM was the top free overall app in 35 countries in Google Play and in 107 countries in the App Store, and continues to maintain a strong position in key markets such as Canada, the US, the UK, Indonesia and much of the Middle East, to name a few.
“It is great to see so many people downloading BBM, but the true measurement for us is engagement – the connections being made and the conversations in which our BBM community engages. The power of BBM has always been the active, real conversations and interaction that our customers enjoy,” said Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President of BBM at BlackBerry. “From here on out, we will focus on active users of BBM and will no longer focus on simple download numbers.”
This weekend, BlackBerry removed the virtual line-up so that Android and iPhone users can now immediately download, sign in and start using BBM without having to wait.
BBM users can chat with their new contacts – either one-to-one, in multi-person chats or as part of a BBM Group. The delivered and read statuses, as well as the message-in-progress alert, keep people engaged and active in conversations on BBM. BBM users can also share files such as photos, and voice notes, as well as update their statuses with ease. BBM Groups allows photo, calendar, chat and file sharing for up to 30 people in a user-generated community.
Every BBM user has a unique PIN that helps maintains their privacy said BlackBerry, so users never have to give out their phone number or email address to a new or casual contact. BlackBerry ID connects with a person’s PIN, BBM contact list and services to make device switching quick and easy.
In the coming months, BlackBerry said it will deliver BBM Video calling, BBM Voice calling and BBM Channels – a new community building service to connect BBM users even more broadly – to Android and iPhone users.
