I predicted several years ago that BlackBerry (then Research In Motion, or RIM) would realize that its true value proposition is the Blackberry Messaging (BBM) service and it would inevitably migrate to being a vendor of that service on other devices, since that could open up its opportunities dramatically. I am just surprised it waited so long. The old regime was committed to propping up the hardware business, but the folks in charge there now simply want to remain relevant.

It has announced that iOS and Android clients will be rolling out this summer. Some stats:

• More than 60 million monthly active users
• More than 51 million daily active users who are connecting with friends or colleagues an average of one and a half hours every day
• BBM users send and receive more than 10 billion messages each day, nearly twice as many messages per user per day as compared to other mobile messaging apps
• Almost half of BBM messages are read within 20 seconds of being received; indicating how truly engaged BBM customers are

I bet the 60 million number will at least double by the end of 2014.