BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) was unable to convince Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and its mobile messaging service, WhatsApp, to support its smartphone. The social network titan said it will stop offering support for the BlackBerry 10 and BBOS by the end of 2016.
Facebook Inc Ditches BlackBerry Ltd. Altogether
Well, another mobile app ends support for the once dominant smartphone company. No matter how many times BlackBerry’s avid users tweets #ILoveBB10App, the major tech firms don’t really appear to be listening.
Facebook confirmed it will end support for the BlackBerry 10 and BBOS. The website, which now has one billion daily users, said it will discontinue its support of APIs important to the Facebook app running on the BlackBerry system.
Writing in a blog post after the news started to surface, BlackBerry said it was “extremely disappointed” by the move.
“We are extremely disappointed in their decision as we know so many users love these apps,” BlackBerry wrote. “We fought back to work with WhatsApp and Facebook to change their minds, but at this time, their decision stands.”
This doesn’t necessarily mean that BlackBerry can’t access Facebook anymore. It just means that users will no longer have support for contact syncing, Facebook integration or Facebook sharing through the share button. BlackBerry noted it will replace the Facebook app with a native app it intends to release on March 31.
Nevertheless, BlackBerry’s avid business-minded users are still tweeting the hashtag in the hopes of getting the attention of some of the top tech firms around today. It’s yet another sad tale for a firm that was once the most popular brand in the mobile industry a decade ago.
Last month, WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging app, said it was ending support for all BlackBerry devices by the end of the year. BlackBerry wasn’t the only victim. The app said it’s discontinuing support for Windows Phone 7.1, Android 2.1 and 2.2, the Nokia S40 and Nokia Symbian 260.
A Future Without BlackBerry Ltd.?
Year-to-date, BlackBerry shares are down 13 percent at around the $8 mark. In the last 10 years, its stock has crumbled more than 90 percent. But it’s still holding strong.
It’s amazing to see just how far BlackBerry has fallen. What was once the biggest smartphone in the world, has now dipped to under one percent market share. Despite the successful changes that CEO John Chen has made since taking over the reins, like focusing on enterprise security software, BlackBerry still insists on being a smartphone firm.
Although most smartphone users have abandoned ship, there are still faithful customers who are buying all of the latest BlackBerry models, promoting the firm on social media and even going as far as buying shares in the company. But how long will these users support BlackBerry when many of the Internet’s most popular apps are exiting?
Experts say that if a crashing stock value, a plummeting market share and declining brand awareness won’t kill it then perhaps the app market will. Suffice to say, a future without a BlackBerry smartphone is plausible. However, a BlackBerry-less future altogether is less plausible, considering its massive patent portfolio.
Hey, at least President Barack Obama is using the BlackBerry.
“You can’t run the world’s most powerful nation without your BlackBerry,” the president said in 2014.
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