BBM for Android - Know Your Mobile

BBM for Android and iPhone nets over 10 million downloads on day one of release

BlackBerry has revealed than in the first 24 hours since it launched BBM for Andorid and iPhone it has been downloaded more than 10 million times, in what the company describes as "one of the best single-day openings for a mobile app to date ."

BBM achieved number one app status in the UK, US, Canada, Indonesia and "most of the Middle East," according to a BlackBerry statement. It also gained "overwhelmingly positive" user ratings on both Apple's App Store and Google Play with 60,000 five star reviews on Google Play.

Andrew Bocking, BlackBerry's executive vice president of BBM, said, "This has been an incredible launch for BBM across Android and iPhone devices. The mobile messaging market is full of opportunity for BBM. We intend to be the leading private social network for everyone who needs the immediate communication and collaboration of instant messaging combined with the privacy, control and reliability delivered through BBM."

He added: "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 to Android and iPhone customers too.

"My team is still committed to bringing those features to BBM on Android and iPhone in the near future. And we're 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."

Reviews of BBM for Android called into question 

A slew of five star ratings for BBM for Android has resulted in allegations that something fishy is going on inside Google's Play store, and the allegation is as follows: BlackBerry is writing up fake reviews of its newly released IM application, BBM.

BlackBerry launched BBM for Android and iOS on Monday. Since then a stream of "fake" reviews has appeared inside Google's Play store (see below).

At the time of writing there are currently 182,000 reviews of BBM for Android. It's not uncommon for companies to hire marketing firms to write up decent reviews of newly released applications, although BlackBerry says this is not the case it all –– it has nothing to do with the reviews.

A BlackBerry spokesperson gave TNW the following statement:

"We have been made aware of a number of potentially fake reviews of BBM for Android on Google Play, with ratings anywhere from one to five stars. We have no knowledge of how these reviews were created or populated. We do not approve of or condone such activities. There are also many genuinely great and useful reviews from our new BBM users on Google Play. We would like to encourage our fans and users to continue to provide true assessments of the BBM experience through the proper channels."

BlackBerry officially launched BBM for iPhone and Android

After much ado, BlackBerry has finally confirmed the release details of BBM for Android and iPhone. The IM application is now available for download inside Google Play And Apple's App Store.

BBM for Android and iPhone was downloaded by five million users within the first eight hours of its release, @BBM has confirmed. 

Next 5 million in line - your turn! Open up BBM and click "I got the email" to get started on #BBM right away!

— BBM (@BBM) October 22, 2013

BBM now inside Google Play & App Store

BlackBerry confirmed the rollout would begin yesterday evening. Here's the company's official statement:

"I am thrilled to tell you that we are about to officially resume our rollout of BBM for Android and iPhone customers around the globe!* In the next few hours, people will start seeing BBM in Google Play, the App Store and in select Samsung App Stores – where it will be free to download," wrote Andrew Bocking on the official BlackBerry Blog. 

Around six million people signed up for email updates on BBM.com, according to Bocking. And to ensure this rollout goes more smoothly than the last one, BlackBerry has implemented the following roll out schedule:

• Download BBM – the easiest way is to visit BBM.com from your Android or iPhone browser
• Once you install the app, open it, and enter your email address to hold your spot in line
• We will email you as soon as you reach the front of the line and can start using BBM

Users that signed up for email alerts from BBM.com can download and start using the application straight away. But if you didn't sign up for alerts –– and this is the kicker –– you'll have to wait for BlackBerry to activate your account. 

"If you didn't sign up in advance, don't worry – we are focused on moving millions of customers through the line as fast as possible," added Bocking.

Once you're email has reached the front of the queue you'll receive an email from BlackBerry and you can then –– and only then –– begin using BBM.

Beat the queues and get BBM straight away

In a bid to ensure that the rollout of BBM isn't royally mucked again, BlackBerry has taken the rather unique approach of implementing a queuing system for access to its now-cross-platform IM app.

How it works is simple: you download the app, register or sign-in, and then wait for BlackBerry to verify your BBM account and grant you access to the service. That's all well and good but it doesn't take into account one thing –– most people are very impatient.

So, if you don't want to have to go through all that, and you just want to start using BBM as soon as you've downloaded the app, check out this handy little trick, via CNET, to get instant access to BBM as soon as it's downloaded:   

"Open the BBM app, enter your e-mail address and click Next. Then, force-close the app: on an Apple device double-click the home button and swipe the app away; or on Android, enter the multitasking menu and swipe the app away, or go to Settings, Apps, BBM, and Force Close.

"Relaunch the app and it should allow you to create an account and start using the app. Bear in mind however that BlackBerry could close this sneaky loophole at any time."

BBM on Samsung Galaxy Note 3

We managed to get BBM up and running almost immediately on our Galaxy Note 3. Setup is simple: just sign in with or create a BlackBerry ID, add you date of birth, hit next and you're in. Also, if you're a legacy BBM user –– aren't we all? –– then you can port over your old account to your iPhone or Android device.

Once you have the application installed, however, you will have to live with a constant BBM icon sitting in your notifications bar. You can't remove it while BBM is open –– and BBM is always open –– which will no doubt irk some users.

Here's some screengrabs of BBM running on the Galaxy Note 3.

For all the details, delays and dramas leading up to the launch of BBM for Android & iPhone jump over to Page 2!