Press Release.

Facebook is top BlackBerry App World download in Kenya

Research In Motion (RIM), the company behind the BlackBerry solution, today released a list of the top 20 mobile applications that Kenyans love to download from BlackBerry App World. Not surprisingly, popular social media app, the Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones application, topped the list, followed closely by BB (BlackBerry Messenger), and WhatsApp Messenger, with Player For YouTube and Snaptu also gracing the top 10 indicating Kenyans love for socializing on the move. Others in the top 20 list include: Chat for Facebook, the Bible and TuneIn Radio.

Other African countries show similar downloading trends with Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones and BBM in the top three slots, while globally BlackBerry App World, Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones, BBM, WhatsApp Messenger and Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones took the top 5 slots. The top global download during the review period was the Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones app. The findings also show that BlackBerry smartphone users are downloading more than 3 million apps per day from BlackBerry App World on average. There are over 25,000 BlackBerry apps available today.

The information on the most popular app downloads was gathered over a period of one week following the inclusion of 27 new markets on BlackBerry App World. BlackBerry App World is now available in 101 countries worldwide with BBM, one of the leading downloads, scooping the Best App on the BlackBerry Platform award during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.

“We are excited about the uptake by the Kenyan market of the apps available on BlackBerry App World” said Deon Liebenberg, Managing Director for Africa at RIM. “RIM continues to support developers in order to provide apps that leverage the many advantages of the BlackBerry platform and deliver best-in-class mobile experiences.”

BlackBerry App World allows customers to discover, download and enjoy a wide range of mobile applications for their BlackBerry smartphones. The BlackBerry App World online store is available for all BlackBerry smartphones with a trackball, trackpad or touch screen running BlackBerry OS (device software) 4.5 or higher.

Customers can download BlackBerry App World through their computer or directly from their smartphone by visiting www.blackberry.com/appworld or mobile.blackberry.com. BlackBerry App World can then be conveniently accessed over both Wi-Fi and mobile phone networks and will automatically present users with the relevant catalog of applications available for their specific BlackBerry smartphone model.

The full list of top 20 Kenyan downloads for BlackBerry are as follows:

1. Facebook
2. BlackBerry Messenger
3. WhatsApp Messenger
4. Hangman
5. Dictionary and Thesaurus – Dictionary com
6. DriveSafely
7. Player For YouTube
8. Chat for Facebook – Free Facebook Chat App
9. TuneIn Radio
10. Snaptu
11. Caller ID Reader
12. DriveCarefully
13. FaceChat – Free Facebook Chat App
14. Bible
15. Who Is It – LED Light Alerts for Contacts
16. Vlingo – Virtual Assistant
17. Super Address Book – FREE
18. Twitter
19. Navita Sports
20. Yahoo Messenger