BBM for Android and iPhone Already Has 10M Downloads

Just yesterday morning, I wrote that BlackBerry was ready to resume its rollout of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) for Android and iPhone devices. A mere 24 hours later, BlackBerry reported that the app has seen more than 10 million downloads. That is how many Android and iPhone users have downloaded the cross-platform BBM app around the world.

The BBM app for Android and iPhone is available as a free download on both Google Play and the Apple App Store. Believe it or not, BBM made a meteoric rise through the rankings and shot to the number one spot on the Apple Store. It is currently the top ranking iOS free app in more than 75 countries. It accomplished this in just 24 hours.

Some of the countries that have taken a shine to the BlackBerry app include the U.S. Canada, the U.K., Indonesia and most of the Middle East. In addition to it being popular, it is also receiving some very high marks. User ratings in both the App Store and Google Play show how popular it is. It has received a positive response earning BBM 60,000 five star reviews on Google Play from about 87,000 reviews.

As a reminder, these are some of the key features found in BBM:

• BBM Chat – Enjoy real, immediate conversations with friends on Android, iPhone and BlackBerry smartphones. Not only does BBM let people know their message has been delivered and read, it also shows them when a contact is responding to a message
• More than chat – With BBM, customers can simply and instantly share files such as photos and voice notes. Multi-person chats are a great way to invite contacts to chat together
• Get in the Group – BBM Groups lets users invite up to 30 friends to chat together, as well as share photo albums, calendars and files
• Post updates and stay in the know – BBM lets people post a personal message, profile picture and a current status, and lets contacts see statuses instantly in Updates
• Your unique PIN – Every BBM user has a unique PIN that maintains privacy, so users are not required to ever give out their phone number or email address to a new or casual contact

Andrew Bocking, executive vice president of BBM at BlackBerry, made the following comments: “This has been an incredible launch for BBM across Android and iPhone devices. The mobile messaging market is full of opportunity for BBM. We intend to be the leading private social network for everyone who needs the immediate communication and collaboration of instant messaging combined with the privacy, control and reliability delivered through BBM.”

The features mentioned above are available right now on the cross-platform BBM app. In the not too distant future, BlackBerry plans to give Android and iPhone users access to BBM Voice and Video calling. In addition the new BBM Channels will also be made available.