BBM succeeds, but not on Android

BlackBerry Messenger has entered the world of messaging applications at one of the worst times. WhatsApp dominates, and although it does not stand out for its updates, the truth is that we cannot speak of many recent errors, with very few service interruptions at present. However, BBM is achieving positive figures, with the exception of Android, where it seems not to succeed.

A null launch

BBM was launched as a continuity of the service that already existed for the Canadian brand's smartphones, but which was now also going to be available for Android and iOS. The launch of the application, in reality, was null. It is not that it was not successful, but because there were problems as far as the Android version is concerned, because before the official availability of the final version that BlackBerry was going to launch, a preliminary version of said application appeared on the Internet and downloaded by millions of people, and that the system crashed, probably because that old application was consuming more resources from the servers. Because BlackBerry could not control the situation, it had to withdraw the application the same day it was launched on September 21. IOS users who had already downloaded it could continue to use it. Users who downloaded the wrong version for Android had to actually uninstall it or stop using it. Whatever happened, BlackBerry was going to work on making that app unusable. And in fact, that was why they needed time to fix the problem. In any case, although the launch had to be canceled, the large number of downloads confirmed that its success was clear.

By the way, the fact that it was the wrong version for Android that crashed the service due to the number of downloads, shows that the application promised to be very successful in Google's operating system.

New release with waiting list

However, a month later, on October 21, it was announced that BBM was going to be re-launched again. On this occasion, yes, there was going to be a small difference, and that is that he was going to launch with a waiting list. In other words, users would gradually receive invitations to access the service, with the aim that crashes did not occur and everyone could use the application correctly. It was not a big problem either, as it was a matter of days that the waiting list was removed. Regarding the statistics obtained by said application, we find that iOS and Android users reached the figure of five million downloads in just eight hours, ending the first day with 10 million downloads. A week later, the Android app alone had already been downloaded more than 10 million times. The latest figures we have speak of 80 million users in total, but probably that number will have already changed.

In iOS it triumphs more than in Android

However, we do have some really relevant data regarding the success that the application is having, or rather, the diversity of success it has in the two operating systems that it reached last October. For example, we find that the Android version of BBM is only in the Top 10 of four countries: Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. For its part, the same does not happen with the version for iOS, which triumphs in Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Actually, you only need to compare numbers for some countries. In Malaysia, the application for iOS is number 14, while in Google Play it is number 44. In Argentina, BBM for iOS is number 1, while it is number 14 in Google Play. And in the Philippines, a country that we remember in these difficult times that families who have had to endure the consequences of the hurricane are going through, BBM for iOS is number 26, while for Android it is number 144.

In Spain

In Spain, the situation is really similar. The Canadian messaging application in its version for iOS is in 88th place, while the Android version is in 172nd place. And it is especially surprising because the exact opposite happens with other applications. For example, Facebook Messenger for iOS is in 108th place, while in Google Play we find it in 22nd place. It could all be simply because of the type of user of BlackBerry Messenger and that of Facebook Messenger. Perhaps this last application is more selected by young people, while BBM is the choice of professionals. Although this does not fit too much because a lot of young people have had BlackBerry, being a really affordable smartphone in the golden age of the iPhone. Most likely, everything is simply due to the fact that BBM is a popular application for those who have used smartphones for the longest time, while Facebook Messenger should be the choice of many novice users, who do have a Facebook account.