While the BlackBerry
name isn’t much more than an afterthought in the Android market, users
might be surprised to hear that some of the company’s legacy mobile
services are still around. Unfortunately for those still using them,
BlackBerry has announced that they’ll be shutting down over the next two
years, including the platform’s app store.
Since it’s been two years since a BlackBerry 10 device has actually shipped, it makes sense the company would want to kill off these aging services. First up on the chopping block are the BlackBerry Travel site and Playbook video calling, which will be discontinued in February and March 2018, respectively.
The big shutdown, however, will take place on December 31st, 2019, when the BlackBerry World app store will be taken offline. This means devices like Passport or Classic will have no way to download new apps. For those who still rely on these phones, the clock is ticking down to the time when there’ll be no choice but to make the switch to Android.
Fortunately for these remaining BlackBerry users, the company has promised that BB10 devices will get “at least” two years of additional support, while a minimum of two years of network access will be available for BBOS phones. The company adds that customers still using these older BlackBerry devices will be offered a discount on the new Android-powered KeyOne and Motion, but exact specifics on the trade-up program weren’t revealed.
Since it’s been two years since a BlackBerry 10 device has actually shipped, it makes sense the company would want to kill off these aging services. First up on the chopping block are the BlackBerry Travel site and Playbook video calling, which will be discontinued in February and March 2018, respectively.
The big shutdown, however, will take place on December 31st, 2019, when the BlackBerry World app store will be taken offline. This means devices like Passport or Classic will have no way to download new apps. For those who still rely on these phones, the clock is ticking down to the time when there’ll be no choice but to make the switch to Android.
Fortunately for these remaining BlackBerry users, the company has promised that BB10 devices will get “at least” two years of additional support, while a minimum of two years of network access will be available for BBOS phones. The company adds that customers still using these older BlackBerry devices will be offered a discount on the new Android-powered KeyOne and Motion, but exact specifics on the trade-up program weren’t revealed.
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