BBM adds 20 mn new active users

After the amazing launch of BBM on Android and iPhone devices, with more than 10 million downloads in the first 24 hours, according to a BlackBerry release.

BBM has now ended its first week with more than 80 million monthly active users, including over 20 million new users on Android and iPhone devices.

The BBM experience will continue to evolve. In the coming months, BlackBerry will deliver BBM Video calling, BBM Voice calling and BBM Channels - a new community building service to connect BBM users even more broadly - to Android and iPhone users.

"From here on out, we will focus on active users of BBM and will no longer focus on simple download numbers," said Andrew Bocking, executive vice president of BBM at BlackBerry.

"BBM users can also share files such as photos, and voice notes, as well as update their statuses with ease. BBM Groups allows photo, calendar, chat and file sharing for up to 30 people in a user-generated community," the company mentioned in its statement.

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.