BBM on iPhone, Android crosses 20 mn users in first week of release

In the first week of its release, BBM messenger for Android and iPhone has more than 20 million monthly active users, bringing the total to 80 million overall BBM users, according to a report released by the company. “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.” [caption id=“attachment_1200679” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A screenshot of the BBM app.[/caption] This past weekend, BlackBerry was able to remove the virtual line-up so that Android and iPhone users can immediately download, sign in and start using BBM. In September, BlackBerry had paused the global rollout of its instant messaging service BBM on rival phones, blaming the delay on issues caused by an unreleased old version of BBM (BlackBerry Messenger). The application has also seen ‘overwhelmingly positive reviews’ on Google Play and the App Store. BBM has earned 60,000 five-star reviews on Google Play from about 87,000 reviews, he added. On Apple’s App Store, BBM rose quickly in the free app rankings in the first 24 hours, taking the number one slot in more than 75 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, Indonesia and most of the Middle East, Bocking said. BlackBerry said it will add more new features to BBM to promote it as the private social network. With inputs from AP