BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) called BBM on iOS and Android “an amazing success” just 24 hours after their launch. BBM head Andrew Bocking posted a blog on the company’s website saying that in the first 24 hours, they had more than 10 million downloads of the popular messaging app.
BlackBerry Messenger launched on iOS, Android
The global rollout of BBM for iOS and Android started out as a complete disaster. An unreleased version of BBM for Android was posted online, and that caused problems which halted the scheduled rollout of both new versions. Nonetheless, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) finally delivered on its promise to bring BBM to Android and iOS.
According to Bocking, the messaging app “rose very quickly” in the free app rankings for Apple’s App Store, climbing to the top spot in over 75 countries, including Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Indonesia, and a good portion of the Middle East. He also reported that they have seen “overwhelmingly positive reviews” on both Google Play and the App Store. He said BBM has earned more than 60,000 five-star reviews on Google Play alone out of the 87,000 reviews which have been submitted so far.
Other BBM services coming to iOS, Android
He also reported that while currently they only have the messaging part of BBM on iOS and Android, they’re working on bringing the rest of the BBM experience to both platforms, including BBM Video, BBM Channels and BBM Voice. In addition, he said they have “some great new features planned” which will build even further on BBM.
As BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) ponders its future, BBM has been one of the parts of the company that most agree is worth something. In fact, BlackBerry has been said to be considering spinning it off into a separate company. This overwhelmingly positive response to the rollout of the app on competing platforms highlights that BBM certainly has value if leveraged correctly. If these plans had failed, then BlackBerry might have seen its valuation take yet another dive in the eyes of investors and analysts.
