#BlackBerry to offer free voice calls through #BBM by February

Smartphone maker BlackBerrywill introduce free voice calls on its instant messenger app over next month through an update which will also allow users to surf and create BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) channels, share content and geographical location on the go.

Krishnadeep Baruah, senior director, channel marketing in Asia Pacific for Blackberry, told ET that the global update of the app will happen 'within a few weeks', which will put BBM in direct competition with apps like Viber, Line and WhatsApp, that allow users to make free calls and send audio as chats.

The Canadian company that had launched BBM voice for BB 10 users last year, will make the free calling feature available across Android,iPhone and BlackBerry OS 5 upwards smartphones. Around 100 million people worldwide use BBM across OS platforms.

Baruah said that video call on BBM, that is available on BB 10 devices, will be available for users across platforms in the near future, but declined to confirm whether it will be part of the next app update. The company may also launch BBM for Windows devices in the future, the only operating system that does not support BBM at present. "We're constantly evaluating and hopefully at the right time we will be able to launch on newer platforms," Baruah said, without specifying a timeline.

The smartphone maker that has lost significant market share in India, from 5% to 0.5% in a year since September 2012, is looking at monetising BBM and BBM channels globally and locally.

BBM Channel is an extended version of the messenger where users can upload content and subscribe to public (free) and private (paid) channels of other users, which may include companies or individuals. Channel owners can post messages, share pictures, start discussions, post animated images and chat directly with subscribers.
The social media platform which was launched in November, a month after BBM was made available across platforms, has over 250,000 channels globally.

Companies like Bharti Airtel, Loop Mobile, Cafe Coffee Day, music website Gonna.com and news portal Firstpost already have their BBM channels that will be available for users to subscribe in India, once the app is updated. Baruah said that the company wanted to capitalise on the instant messaging phenomenon which has elbowed out traditional text messaging, and is expected to explode over the next couple of years.

Ref - TOI

#BBM downloads touch 10 million mark on Android, iOS in first 24 hours PTI | Oct 23, 2013, 08.01 PM IST

NEW YORK: Canadian handset makerBlackBerry said its popular chat application BBMfor rival Android-based handsets and iPhones has witnessed over 10 million downloads in the first 24 hours of its re-launch.

The struggling smartphone maker had yesterday resumed the rollout of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).

"It's been 24 hours since we resumed the launch of BBM for Android and iPhone. And what a day it's been! We've already had more than 10 million downloads of BBM," BlackBerry EVP (BBM) Andrew Bocking said in a post on the company's official blog.

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).

"When we saw almost one million people install an unreleased version of the Android version, another million use workarounds to download BBM onto their iPhones and another six million people pre-register to know when BBM became available for iPhone and Android, we knew we were on to something huge," he noted.

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.

"While we're excited to bring BBM to iPhone and Android - we aren't stopping there. Work isn't slowing down at all. We committed to delivering a BBM experience on iPhone and Android that was equal to that on BlackBerry 10. That means bringing BBM Video, BBM Voice and BBM Channels...

"My team is still committed to bringing those features to BBM on Android and iPhone in the near future. And we are not stopping there - we have some great new features planned that will build on BBM as the private social network you count on for immediate conversations you can control and trust," Bocking said.

BlackBerry rolls out #BBM to Android, iPhone users (BBM now available download from bbm.com)

TORONTO: BlackBerry said that it has begun to roll out its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service to users of Android and iPhone devices.

The long-awaited cross-platform offering, which was delayed after issues arose following the initial launch last month, is now being rolled out in a phased manner.

"To help manage this unprecedented pent-up demand for BBM, we are implementing a simple line-up system to ensure a smooth rollout," Andrew Bocking, who heads the BlackBerry'sBBM business, said in a blog post on the company's website.

BlackBerry said last week that 6 million Android and iPhone customers had pre-registered for the launch.

The company said those that had already signed up for the service at BBM.com are being allowed to use the platform right away, while others will be signed on as fast as possible.