New York Times scraps BlackBerry app, says web site offers better experience
July 25, 2012 - 2:47 PM
NEW YORK, N.Y. - The New York Times is doing away with its BlackBerry app in the latest blow to troubled Canadian smartphone maker Research In Motion (TSX:RIM).
The news organization announced that as of Monday it stopped supporting the NYTimes app for the BlackBerry as well as its DealBook BlackBerry Reader.
It also cancelled its support for the Palm Pre, by device maker Palm.
Users of RIM's BlackBerry devices will have to go directly to the New York Times site through the phone's web browser — instead of using an app — to get the latest news over their smartphones.
"Currently, our mobile web site offers a more complete New York Times experience than the NYTimes app native to your device," the Times said in a statement.
The announcement comes as a blow to RIM, which has been hurriedly trying to get more developers on its side ahead of the launch of its delayed BlackBerry 10 operating system early next year.
RIM has acknowledged that its BlackBerry App World apps store has lacked the broad selection of competitors, in particular Apple's iTunes store.
Several popular companies have so far opted out of creating apps for the BlackBerry, including Netflix and Skype, though the company has said it's actively working to attract them.
In November, Google said it would stop supporting an app for its popular Gmail email service.
RIM is also facing a number of corporate defectors that have ditched the company's technology in favour of competitors.
Last week, Australia's Quantis Airlines decided to replace their BlackBerrys with iPhones after an employee vote.
RIM said in a statement last month that it expects the next several quarters to continue to be very challenging for its business.
The Waterloo, Ont.-based company saw revenue drop 33 per cent to $2.8 billion in the quarter ended June 2 down from $4.2 billion in the prior quarter, and has seen stiff competition from Apple's iPhone and devices that use Google's Android platform.
RIM shares were down 12 cents or 1.69 per cent to $6.96 in afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012