BlackBerry claims massive BBM growth

BlackBerry has announced that having resumed the roll-out of BBM for Android and iPhone on 21 October 2013, it has generated 20 million new active users in the first week.

BlackBerry says that its BBM service now boasts 80 million monthly active users.

During its first week, BBM was the top free overall app in 35 countries in Google Play and in 107 countries in the App StoreSM, and continues to maintain a strong position in key markets such as Canada, the US, the UK, Indonesia and much of the Middle East, to name a few.

“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 VP 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.”

Despite a turbulent time in the global smartphone market, BlackBerry remains a relevant and popular brand on the African continent, according to data from advisory firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

Smartphone shipments to Africa were up 21.5% year on year for Q2 2013, and now account for 18.0% of the overall African mobile phone market’s volume.

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