BBM for Android and iPhone rivals brag millions of users

From WhatsApp, Facebook to new players from Asia, BlackBerry Messenger’s venture on Android and iPhone will face bigger than ever rivals that now serve millions of customers worldwide.

Just recently, WhatsApp said that it is now serving 250 million registered users, and unspecified percentage of its users are already on “premium” account allowing the company to generate revenue. As reported by Yahoo News, just this April, WhatsApp accumulated $355,000 from Apple iPhone (iOS) users and $41,000 on Android ecosystem — in United States alone. In other countries, WhatsApp generate more revenue from Google Play Store than Apple like in Germany, the instant-messaging service raked-in a total of $290,000 on the same month, and a shy $207,000 from Apple devices.

Now, imagine WhatsApp’s revenue each month, bear in mind that aside from iPhone and Android, WhatsApp is also available on other platforms with smaller market share including Microsoft’s Windows Phone.

Another BBM’s future rival on Android and iPhone that is worth mentioning is WeChat, based in China, the startup is reportedly expanding to other markets aside from Asia.

As reported by Washington Post, the Chinese web giant behind the “IM” service or instant-messaging service is already serving 300 million users — and 70 million are outside of China. However, the report revealed that WeChat is facing problem with its expansion in the United States due to privacy concerns. According to the report, “China can get access to” more phones in United States — and the country could follow India that recently proposed banning the service.

And that’s how BBM can get the opportunity and raise its revenue by serving BMM clients on Android and iPhone — BBM is a more popular instant-messaging service, boasting encryption — allowing customers to feel the protection while exchanging messages within BlackBerry’s infrastructure.

According to analysts, BBM can give the Canadian company a new revenue stream by providing the “freemium” service, it’s free on some basic features, but comes with price tag for other services.

No word yet from Blackberry about the release date, price and features of BBM for iPhone and Android, but during the company’s earnings call, BB’s CEO Thorstein Heins said that the two applications are “on track” and would join the market this summer.