BBM 2.2 for Android and iOS Brings Easier Sign-Up, Friending, and More

It was late last year that Canadian smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry released its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) on Android and iOS platforms for free. Now the latest version of BBM (version 2.2) is available for download on Google Play, with the iOS version all set to hit the App Store in the coming days.

On the official BlackBerry blog, Inside BlackBerry, Jeff Gadway, head of product and brand marketing writes about the new version which has hit the Google Play store on Wednesday, "This next release (v.2.2) is focused on streamlining key aspects of the BBM experience. Our goal was to make it simpler for new users to join the BBM community and to make it faster and easier to add new BBM contacts."

The new features on BBM v2.2 for Android include an easier way to add contacts via email, wherein a user who receives a BBM invite by email can just become a contact by clicking on the link provided, rather than sending a PIN invite back, as is the current method. Even signing up for BBM is easier. All that new users require are an email ID, name and password, and they can start using it.

On the cosmetic side there are 16 new emoticons that will be added to the new version. These include a hotdog, hacker, a pair of hot lips amongst others. The 'Updates' tab has been renamed to 'Feeds', to represent a user better. It will include latest statuses and profile photos from BBM contacts and newer posts from the BBM channels that users follow. The latest version also brings a range of bug fixes and performance improvements.

The updated BBM v2.2 app Android version can be downloaded from Google Play. In addition to that the blog also makes a mention of the fact that there is something new in store for BlackBerry users. While Gadway has not given away much details in the post, he does write that the special release of the BBM for BlackBerry smartphones will be for the BBOS and BlackBerry 10 smartphones. "This special release of BBM for BlackBerry smartphones will include many of the things we've talked about here...and a few special things added for good measure," he writes.

It is also important to note that the previous update which had come to BBM (for Android, BB10 and iOS) around two months ago offered larger and bolder images, brought sticker support, as well as the ability to share photos in multi-person chats. It also increased the file sharing limit from 6MB to 16MB.

Windows Phone is still the only major smartphone ecosystem BBM has not yet made a foray into. It was however confirmed by BlackBerry that it is looking for a Q2 2014 release of BBM for Windows Phone.

BlackBerry starts daily free BB10 app giveaways, discounted $0.99 app offers

Canadian handset maker is betting on
the apps ecosystem to turn around its
fortunes with free and discounts on
apps across categories like games, music
and productivity for users of its BB10
platform.

" BlackBerry is kicking off the winter
festive season with a variety of offers
on some of its most popular apps on the
BlackBerry World. The offers will roll
out throughout the month of December
2013," a BlackBerry spokesperson told
PTI.

He added that the offer would be
available to users of handsets like Q5,
Q10, Z10 and Z30, which run on its
BB10 operating system across the
world.

The company does not disclose the
number of its users.
Under the first offer, BlackBerry will
offer one free app each day between
December 1 and December 25.
"One free app per day from the likes
of Angry Birds, Pacemaker and
Monopoly would be available for free
download for a 24 hour period," the
spokesperson said.
Under the second offer, BlackBerry
will launch its 'Hello Winter USD 0.99
Sale', where content will be offered at
the discounted price during the entire
month of December.

"BlackBerry World has over 1,40,000
apps for BB10 OS. India in particular
has been a robust growth market for
us from an apps standpoint, so I am
confident that we will see tremendous
traction with these offers," the
spokesperson said.

According to sources, 27-30 per cent of
its sales in India is of devices powered
by the BB10 platform.
In India, the four BB10-powered
devices are priced between Rs. 22,000
and Rs. 44,000.

The Canadian firm has been facing
stiff competition from other
smartphone makers like Apple and
Samsung as sales have declined over the
past few months.

It is now placing big bets on apps,
including taking its popular messaging
service BBM to other operating
systems, aimed at raking in additional
revenue in the coming months.

BlackBerry Messenger available for Android and iOS via 'line-up system'

BlackBerry Ltd said on Monday 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's
BBM 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.

Android's smartphone marketshare rises to nearly 80 percent: IDC

Smartphones powered by Google's
Android software increased their global
market share as iPhones lost ground in
the absence of new models being
unleashed by Apple, the International
Data Corporation reported Wednesday.
Android's share of the smartphone
market grew to 79.3 percent in the
second quarter while that of iPhone
slipped to 13.2 percent from 16.6
percent in the same three-month
period last year, according to IDC
figures.

"The iOS decline in the second quarter
aligns with the cyclicality of iPhone,"
said IDC mobile phone research team
manager Ramon Llamas, referring to
the software platform on which the
Apple handsets are built.
"Without a new product launch since
the debut of the iPhone 5 nearly a
year ago, Apple's market share was
vulnerable to product launches from
the competition."
Apple is "well positioned" to recapture
market share with the release later
this year of a new iPhone and the
next-generation iOS mobile operating
system, according to Llamas.
IDC reported that 187 million Android-
powered smartphones were shipped in
the second quarter of the year as
compared to 31.2 million iPhones.
Smartphones powered by Microsoft
Windows software showed the biggest
jump, hitting 3.7-percent of the
market in a 77.6 percent rise that
"re-enforced" the mobile platform's
third-place position, according to IDC.

The gain was driven by Nokia, which
released hot new Windows smartphones
and accounted for just shy of 82
percent of the 8.7 million Windows
phones shipped worldwide during the
quarter.
"Last quarter we witnessed Windows
Phone shipments surpassing BlackBerry
and the trend has continued into the
second quarter," said IDC mobility
tracker program manager Ryan Reith.
"Nokia has clearly been the driving
force behind the Windows Phone
platform, and we expect that to
continue."
Ailing Blackberry saw its share of the
global smartphone market shrink to 2.9
percent from 4.9 percent in the second
quarter last year, IDC reported.
A total of 236.4 million smartphones
were shipped during the quarter in a
51.3 percent rise from the 156.2 million
shipped in the same period a year
earlier, according to IDC.
Android retained its crown as the top
smartphone platform in the United
States in the quarter with 59 percent
of the market, the same as the prior
quarter, a report released Tuesday by
comScore indicated.
California-based Apple remained the
most popular smartphone maker in US
and its share of that market was up
slightly to 39.9 percent from the first
three months of this year, according
to comScore.

Mobile messaging app Line signs up 5 million users in India

Mobile instant messaging app, Line,
which officially unveiled in India three
weeks back, claims to have 5 million
registered users in the country.
It's worth pointing out that while the
brand marketing campaign for the app,
including two television advertisements
started this month, the app has been
available for download on app stores of
various smartphone platforms for a
long time. So it's likely that the 5
million figure also includes users that
signed up before the India marketing
initiative started.
Commenting on the achievement,Jun
Masuda, Chief Strategy and Marketing
Officer (CSMO) of Line Corporation,
said, "We are extremely happy with the
response to our service in India. This is
the testimony that we are in the right
market with the right product and at
the right time. We believe that the
framework for web based messaging
has already been laid with consumers
hooked to it and now are looking for a
product that can elevate their
communication experience through
richer features and functionality. Line
comes in at the right time with an app
that will transform the way people
communicate in India".
"Our aim is to achieve 10 million users
in India in a few months. We are
confident with our feature rich
product and market specific
localization, India will be one of the
key markets contributing to our global
growth," he added.
Line is similar to other P2P mobile
messengers such as WhatsApp, Viber,
WeChat and Hike, but its USP is its
stickers and voice chat features. The
app offers more than 8,000 stickers,
out of which some are part of premium
packs which need to be bought via in-
app purchase. This is a major
monetization model for the app. Line
even inks 4 week deals with brands to
offer customised stickers.
Line also monetizes through tie-up with
brands to create official brand
accounts and artist accounts. The
Japanese app company informed that it
had signed a deal with Sony India
under the same arrangement.
The app is popular in markets such as
Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and Spain,
and is now targeting the Indian
market. It intends to offer localised
stickers and support for Indian
languages, in the near future.
Line claims to have 200 million
registered users worldwide, as on July
21, 2013, and says that 80.4 percent
among these are monthly active users.
The app is available on all major mobile
OS platforms, including iOS, Android,
Windows Phone and BlackBerry.