WhatsApp Drops Support for BlackBerry Phone Devices

By Soko Directory Team / Published March 4, 2016 | 6:59 am

One of the most used social platform for sending messages, videos as well as making calls, WhatsApp has announced that it is dropping its support for most of BlackBerry devices. The platform made an announcement that by the end of the year 2016, most BlackBerry devices will no longer have WhatsApp. The BlackBerry phones that are currently loaded with the company’s mobile platform.

This move by WhatsApp which has over one billion active users means that BlackBerry phone users have no other choice but to look for gadgets that support the platform if at all they are to enjoy the services. According to a blog done by the WhatsApp team, the company said that when it launched its services back in the year 2009, most phone owners either had Nokia or BlackBerry but now it has emerged that the gadgets do not offer the kind of capabilities that the company needs to expand their app’s in the future.

The move is not only going to affect BlackBerry’s OS but the app will also stop working and operating on Nokia S40, Symbian S60, Android 2.1, Android 2.2 and the Windows Phone 7.1 by the end of the year 2016.

It is estimated that WhatsApp handles close to 42 billion messages as well as 250 million videos daily and of late, the platform made it easier for users to get the latest WhatsApp features. According to a study conducted by GeoPoll, almost 32 percent of people in Africa use the BlackBerry brand ahead of Samsung which is 27 percent and Nokia which is 21 percent.

BlackBerry is a brand that is still widely used especially in Africa and many people are going to be affected. For instance, in Nigeria, 40 percent of the smartphone market is occupied by BlackBerry.

Article by Juma Fred.

About Soko Directory Team

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system.Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory

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