BlackBerry Finds Early Success With Mobile Messaging App

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BlackBerry Finds Success In The Mobile Messaging Market (Mobidia)
Mobile analytics provider Mobidia has released some usage data on the mobile messaging industry, paying particular attention to the uptake of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) in its first two weeks as a standalone app available on Android.

BBM

Mobidia's data shows that BBM captured 6% of the Android smartphone population in Mobidia's global network, which is a very respectable showing during the debut week for a new app. Users also spent an average of 79 minutes using BBM during its first week. This early success may be attributed to the fact that former BlackBerry users are still attached to the brand.

However, the uptake of BBM still pales in comparison to the numbers for a number of other standalone mobile messaging apps on Android. Currently, BBM ranks 9th in terms of mobile user penetration, well behind established apps like WhatsApp, Kakao Talk, and Facebook Messenger.

Clearly, the mobile messaging ecosystem is heavily fragmented at this point, and BBM enters a market that is highly competitive. On top of that, BBM will be facing stiff competition from alternative messaging services that are gaining in popularity, like Snapchat and Wickr, platforms for the sharing of ephemeral messages and photos.Read >

In other news...

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Head of design at Apple, Jony Ive, spoke to Charlie Rose recently about what he learned from Steve Jobs about how to make a truly great product. (Business Insider)

Boxed is a new mobile commerce app that is attempting to become the Amazon for bulk shopping. (Quartz)

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