Newsletter
In a press release, Blackberry has reported its Q3 2013 earnings today. Blackberry’s revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2014 was approximately $1.2 billion, down $380 million or 24% from approximately $1.6 billion in the previous quarter and down 56% from $2.7 billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2013.
Though the overall financial performance has been nothing short of dismal, there are nuggets in the Q3 earnings report which point towards good things on the horizon for the embattled manufacturer. Blackberry has officially stated in the earnings report how many users have migrated to BBM from iOS and Android. The number stands over a whopping 40 million users from both these platforms had activated Blackberry Messenger (BBM) on their non-blackberry devices. Blackberry did not clarify how many of these users belong to iOS and Android respectively.
Another information tidbit states that more than “a dozen” manufacturers are set to pre-load BBM on their hardware. We already have news that LG has already confirmed that they would pre-load BBM on their devices, but this would mostly depend on carrier preferences in the US. For the uninitiated, BBM is a secure messaging platform for instant messages, video and voice messages which was initially a feature only on BlackBerry devices. Research in Motion (RIM), the company behind BlackBerry, had ruled the roost before the advent of iOS and Android. Majorly due to a lack of innovation, BlackBerry kept losing out to iOS and then to Android, till it almost became a dinosaur.
Their latest strategy of allowing the BBM service outside of their platform and onto Android and iOS seems to be paying off. With 40 million users in just 60 days, and BlackBerry’s new CEO John Chen’s plans of providing the “BlackBerry Experience” on Android, things are looking good for them in the future.
BBM is expected to acquire new features in an upcoming upgrade including BBM Voice which which gives you the option to call anywhere in the world for free when connected to WiFi. Also expected is BBM Channels, their new “social engagement platform”, as well as an update to the emoticon sets. To get started with BBM on your Android device, check out our handy guide.
Do you rock the BBM on your beloved Android? Like it, Love it or Hate it? Shout it out in the comments below.