The BlackBerry Bold
Google will no longer offer or support its Gmail email app for BlackBerry users as of 22 November and will instead focus on building a “great Gmail experience in the mobile browser”, the internet search giant said.
BlackBerry users who already have the Gmail app installed on their devices can continue to use the app, The Wall Street Journal reported.
BlackBerry maker RIM has been beleaguered lately with delayed product launches, a falling stock price and most recently, a huge service outage, which led consumers in the US and Canada to sue the company.
RIM responded to Google’s decision to stop offering or supporting the Gmail app for BlackBerry.
“Since 2009, RIM has incorporated native support for Gmail in BlackBerry (operating system) 5.0 and above, which means that a separate Gmail app is not required,” RIM said in a statement.
“The large majority of users who access Gmail on their BlackBerry smartphone already rely on the native support (provided through BlackBerry Internet Service) rather than the separate Gmail app.”
Gmail is among the world’s most popular email services, with about 200m users, reported The Wall Street Journal.
