BBM for iOS and Android got off to a flying
start Tuesday, with BlackBerry reporting more
than 10 million downloads during the free
app’s first 24 hours of availability.
Keen to impart some upbeat BlackBerry-
related news – there hasn’t been too much of
it about recently – the company’s executive
vice president Andrew Bocking took to the
official BlackBerry blog to thank customers,
employees, and partners for their “enthusiasm
and commitment” in getting BBM for iOS and
Android off the ground, even if the process
didn’t go as smoothly as he might have liked.
The rush to download the instant messaging
app saw it shoot to the top of app charts in
more than 75 countries, including the US,
Canada, the UK,
Indonesia and most
of the Middle East,
the executive said,
adding, “We have
also seen
overwhelmingly
positive reviews on
Google Play and the
App Store. In fact,
BBM has earned
60,000 five-star
reviews on Google
Play from about
87,000 reviews.”
All that and the app isn’t even running at full
throttle yet – Bocking promised that BBM
features found on the BlackBerry 10 version
of the app, including BBM Video, BBM Voice,
and BBM Channels, would be coming to the
iOS and Android versions “in the near future,”
along with other new features.
Although over 10 million people have
downloaded the app, a portion of those will
be doing little more than simply staring
expectantly at the BBM icon, with BlackBerry
having opted for a little-by-little approach to
activating new BBM accounts in an effort to
ease the pressure on its servers. Considering
the huge interest in the app, this looks to
have been a wise decision.
After downloading BBM, you’re prompted to
enter your email address to hold your place in
line. Once you hit the front, BlackBerry sends
an email to let you know the app is ready for
use. Presumably this system will be dropped
once demand begins to ease up, allowing
downloaders to dive straight in.
Of course, with so much competition out
there in the instant messaging space, there’s
no guarantee BBM will become the app of
choice for iOS and Android users, but the
degree of early interest certainly shows
people are keen to take it for a spin to see
how it stacks up against the competition.
How’s it looking for you?
Source: Digital Trends
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