BlackBerry delivers on its promise; BBM available for Android phones running Gingerbread

BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) is now available for Android smartphones which are running on Gingerbread, according to an official blog post by the company. BlackBerry had announced in January that they would be launching the app for the Android smartphones still running on the older version of the software. Users with Android Gingerbread can download the BBM app on to their smartphones via the Google Play Store. According to the most recent Android Developer Dashboard, Gingerbread represented about 21 percent of the total Android platform. This means that older version is still a little relevant in some markets where most entry level budget smartphones are launched with the Android 2.3 build. For example some of the lower-end smartphones from Micromax such as Bolt A26, A27 still run Gingerbread. For BlackBerry it is a smart move to try and expand its user base on Android by offering the BBM app to more Android users. BBM app for Android and iOS saw over 20 million new users within the first week of its launch. The BBM app allows users to chat with their friends by sharing their BBM PIN. They can also check which of their friends are using the BBM app by looking at the Find Friends feature.