Following a complicated and embarrassingly delayed launch for Android and iOS, BlackBerry’s BBM messenger service finally arrived this month and it came with a vengeance.
For the embattled Canadian smartphone-maker, this development is a rare moment of modern glory.
All told, BBM logged more than 10 million downloads in the first 24 hours, ending its first week with more than 80 million monthly active users.
In just one week, BBM raked in 20 million new users on Android and iPhone devices.
“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,” says Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President of BBM at BlackBerry.
“The power of BBM has always been the active, real conversations and interaction that our customers enjoy,” Bocking adds. “From here on out, we will focus on active users of BBM and will no longer focus on simple download numbers.”
We’re told that the BBM experience will “continue to evolve” in the coming months, as BlackBerry plans to 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.
