Google to stop Gmail support for Blackberry users
10 Nov 2011
Google says it would stop support to the Gmail application for Blackberry smartphones made by rival Research in Motion.
The Herald Sun newspaper said, Google would stop offering Gmail app for Blackberry users from 22 November although BlackBerry users who already had the Gmail application installed on their phones could continue using the service.
According to a statement from Google, it would instead focus on "building a great Gmail experience in the mobile browser."
The report went on to say that the development came as RIM dealt with product launch delays, a plunging stock price and a rapidly decreasing share of the key US smart phone market.
According to research firm IDC, RIM's share of the US smart phone market was down to 11.6 per cent as of the end of June, while five years ago RIM had 48 per cent of the US market.
According to analysts, Google's move would come as an inconvenience for BlackBerry users having a Gmail account who want to access those messages on the go and also a signal to RIM more than anything else.