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Facebook and Whatsapp Discontinue Support For Blackberry (canadajournal.net)
Meshach writes with a link to news that as of yesterday, Facebook and WhatsApp have both discontinued support for Blackberry smartphones including BlackBerry 10 and BBOS platforms. Apparently Blackberry fought to have the support continue but in the end they were not successful. BlackBerry has had to replaced their official Facebook App with a native app that uses a simple web interface. If you're still using a Blackberry, it would be interesting to know why. (You like the interface? Business requirement? Just being contrarian?)
so a non-story for some of us
"The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
"BlackBerry has had to replaced their official Facebook App..." Methinks the new editors doth edit too little. "All your base are belong to us?"
RIM makes Android devices. So they aren't discontinued.
I USE IT 4 HW KB. I TIPE FASTR AND MOSR ACURATY
Love,
50 and 60 year olds everywhere
Blackberry is dropping support for BBOS itself. The current BBOS 10 seems to be in maintenance mode and their new device will run Android. And the remarks of their CEO that companies should add a backdoor for "lawfull interception" scared away all customers who valued privacy and destroyed the "it is secure" argument when considering Blackberry.
The BlackBerry interface makes more sense to me, the OS allows for true multi-tasking, The Hub aggregates all communication streams (email, SMS, MSS, social app notification, etc.) into one place, and yes...the physical keyboard.
never heard of whatapp, though - must be a canadian clone
I have a Blackberry, my employer gave me a free one. I assume they use Blackberries because of the enterprise/security/management features. I setup a google voice number for as a personal phone number.
I'm so done with farting around with apps. If left to my own devices I'd get one of those credit-card sized voice/text only phones and be done with it.
What app?
"Blackberry has had to replaced their official Facebook App with a native app that uses a simple web interface."
Oh no, those poor peasants, forced to use a filthy web interface! Oh the shame, oh the degradation, how will they ever be able to hold their heads up in public again??
Also, pay attention to your editing, lads. Allowing writing like "has had to replaced" is simply shameful. Tut-tut.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
The Blackberry Bold remains the pinnacle of smartphone design. Too bad people today care more about a big shiny screen and shitty apps than usability.
The article says so.
As mentioned by someone else, the article title is a little misleading. Blackberry is transitioning their phones over to Android (I'm typing this comment on my BlackBerry PRIV running Android right now). So while FB updates are canceled for their old devices, their current and new devices will have the Android app, no problem.
What the fuck is whatapp?
This is not the first time I've seen stories about whatapp.
Is it similar to whatsapp.
No chance you could have linked to the original blog post, from which TFA scrapes its quotes?
blogs.blackberry.com/2016/03/great-apps-on-blackberry-a-strong-commitment-to-the-blackberry-developer-community/
canadajournal.net looks rather sketchy and full of clickbait
to their Commodore Amigas.
So is why would anyone else support the platform?
Reasons? I need email, calender, hot-spot, occasional maps and excellent telephony. That is it. All there. Add an extremely snappy UI (as it is QNX), removable battery, good keyboard and overall excellent hardware. And I recently got a spare new one for around $100 off Ebay. As long as BB supplies security-patches, I am not moving.
Facebook? Whatsapp? If I want time-sinks, I play real games on a real computer.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
I got a BB Z10 for free for being a Qt developer and attend a developer event. It was my first BlackBerry, and I am so sorry that I will have to let it go, since I am so not buying a BB device if it's just running Android (If I'll end up buying an Android device, I'll have plenty of choices). Yes, the BB OS 10 interface is a lot better for me than Android. I loved the Nokia N9, and this one was even a tiny step forward, and I'm too used to it after 5 years of happiness. I also used a Jolla for some time, and is the kind of UI where I feel at home.
The way you jump back and forth between applications on Android is really really bad for my taste. I have an Android tablet, and it annoys the hell of me that it shows lots of poor screenshots of applications that I have not opened (e.g. when I just restarted after an upgrade it shows tons of them no really running). Harmattan (Nokia N9), Sailfish OS (Jolla) or BlackBerry OS 10 give a much more useful indication of what the application is/was doing, or additional controls. Besides, you see several of them at a glance, not in a stack view that only shows a tiny slice of the second one and almost nothing of the next ones.
The top shade got one step back in the last major Android release. In an Android tablet, the user had access to different quick controls swiping on the left or the right of the screen: now I have to swipe twice to have quick access to the Bluetooth control, so moving my headset from the phone to the tablet (or vice versa) is a lot faster and convenient in BB OS 10 with respect to Android (they used to be tied in the previous version).
I'm used to not being the typical user (I'm a bit more power user, fine), but seriously, changing from one application to the other (browser to podcast to instant messaging for example) or having quick access to Bluetooth settings is something I would expect done right in 100% of the mobile OSs for this time and age.
I use a BlackBerry Q10. I NEED the physical Keyboard. I tried for a year with a glass keboard on a Nokia N9 with Meego. I tried everything. Portrait keyboard, Landscape keyboard. Swipe Keyboard (before it was available on Android), custom Layout keyboard, bigger keys keboard, you name it (the good thing about Meego is that it was infinitely customizable). No dice. In the end, after one year of honestly trying to type on glass, it was evident that in my case the physical keyboard wins.
My first Q10 had keyboard problems (multipress) and had to be replaced.
I would be happier with an iPhone with a physical keyboard (and no, cases do not work) as I am a Mac user, but that is just wishfull thinking.
For the OS, BB10 is serviceable, but even RIM/Blackberry do not believe iin it, for if they did, you could buy the Priv in Android option and BB10 option...
But, as for Facebook and WhatsApp discontinuing support, I do not care. Since BB10 can run Android APK binaries, I am 95% sure that an AOSP version of the apps will appear in the BlackBerry World or Amazon App Store, and, failing that, I can sideload the APKs anyhow, so, no big dealio...
My two cents, YMMV
*** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
If you're still using Facebook, it would be interesting to know why. (You like the interface? Business requirement? Just being contrarian?)
Blackberry replaced their Facebook app with a native app. So Facebook won't work with Blackberry phones except when it does?
And what the heck does "BlackBerry has had to replaced" mean?
I use a Z10 because it was provided by my company. And I have to say, it is a good device with a good interface. Except that there are no apps and maybe battery life. It has the Balance feature which separates business data from private data, but still has some integration, like you can see both dates in the calendar app. In other departments in the company they have Windows phones and are not allowed to do anything private with those devices. And I like the Hub, which integrates all sorts of mails, calls, messages, etc.
BlackBerry has very limited app support, but for most things which are important for me I could find solutions. And I never wanted to carry two devices, but I have to regret, that the discontinuation of WhatsApp could be the turning point.
I don't use blackberry, but now I have a reason to.
I am no fanboi of anything really, but I bought blackberry passport on a whim when it came out and never looked back. I'm an old fart and their client is the only one that sensibly connects to our IMAP server and just kinda works, physical keyboard is unmatchable. I actually write production emails from my phone now. Really sad to see whatsapp going away, as I use it to speak to my brother.
Does not the OS support the use android programs? As a user, have you tried this feature?
Choosing the lesser of two evils is a choice for evil.
Is it really so hard to get the name of one of the most popular chat program for mobile phones correct?
Whether or not blackberry devices survive is very much in the balance, but Blackberry the company is making a bundle on their QNX OS, which is quietly powering a huge number of devices in very diverse markets.
http://www.qnx.com/products/ne...
http://www.qnx.com/partners/pa...
http://www.zdnet.com/article/b...
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
I use a Q10 an it is a great phone. I use it mainly because o the physical keyboard, which I find much more productive than a virtual one. Another great feature is the Blackberry Hub which I find much better than any other notification center (either Android or I OS). This said, it it clear that this OS does not have a future. Blackberry should have opted to build a customized Android (without Google Services) and that would have been a great success. I am not sure they will still be abl to make it, but I hope so.
First and foremost, this is old news!
https://tech.slashdot.org/stor...
Former developer and operations (DevOps) guy here, worked for many financial and media outlets; now working as a consultant for remote clients in Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. By nature of my work, I handle thousands of e-mails, hundreds of voice calls, text messages, WhatsApp, Skype etc on the go.
As for why I still use a BlackBerry:
1. Solid communication device - There is nothing like a BB when it comes to holy trinity (E-mail, voice, text). BlackBerry Hub is an unique app that aggregates all communication details into one place, haven't seen anything like it in other devices.
2. Keyboard - Do I need say more ?
3. Sturdy design - I drop it everyday, still it is working without a hitch
4. Long battery life - Easily a day, if I push, about day-and-half on a single charge
5. Stable OS - It has QNX with proper multi tasking
6. Basic useful/stable apps
I always get slagged off by colleagues, friends and pretty much everybody else for carrying a BB. Fact of the matter is, I am an old geezer with sausage fingers, suffering from early stages of rheumatoid arthritis. As a result, I can't type on touch screens like others. I am not big into social media stuff or any young & hip trends that require all these fancy apps. I am comfortable with the basic & stable apps comes with the OS.
There is nothing like writing a typo free e-mail/text (especially to a client), and ensure intended message is communicated correctly. In that respect, BB is a godsend !
I dont understand the BB hate either (or winphone for that matter). It does the essentials (phone,text,mail) extremely well, with a physical keyboard to boot.
Android/iOS are at the back of the pack really, except if you care about apps. Everybody seems to think that is more important...
Blackberry Users would now still have one of the two apps.
Facebook? Whatsapp? If I want time-sinks, I play real games on a real computer.
This is why I carry a desktop PC with me everywhere. The ability to whip it out in the subway and have a quick Call of Duty fragfest just makes my trip so much more pleasant.
need my physical keyboard, I got calloused guitar fingers, I can't type on a touchscreen fast or accurate. I'm also not flicking my finger for ten minutes straight to browse or read a webpage due to the "trackpad" moving my cursor around
my classic does everything I need except stream directv or espn on the go, but do I really need that? I have yet to find a page my browser can't handle
I almost pity the folks that don't have blackberry's as they just don't know what they are missing out on
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if tens of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. I fear something inconsequential has happened.
As far as I'm concerned, Blackberry was already dead when there were only two mobile platforms, it and Palm OS. It was mediocre tech back in 2000, and never improved much.
Time-sinks?
I think you misunderstand the primary purpose of those services which is communication.
I have no idea. I have no need for that and I have some need for my phone to be secure so I am not putting any Apps on it, unless I have a clear need for them.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Whatsapp is SMS-alike for countries with overpriced SMS or communicating across a border. Although it should be a good idea to use something else (like Telegram), because Whatsapp belongs to Facebook so it would be harvesting your phone for them even if you never use Facebook.
Email on a phone? Why would anyone want that? just kidding.
I fully agree. The thing is while a phone has the computing power of a real computer, it is missing almost everything else. This is an excellent trade-off for the essentials, but only for them. For anything else it makes far more sense to add a cheap netbook and use the phone only as access-point. This app-mania is apparently from people that get bored if they have to wait a few minutes or while walking around.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
I think you have missed both the business-model of these services (hint: you are the product) and badly mis-estimated their usefulness. Sure, if you have no life, they will try hard to give you the illusion of having one (after all, that is the carrot they use), but the result is still fake.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
I like the Hub, BBM and the fact that it is a Canadian company.
Today's vices may be tomorrow's virtues.
Doesn't Donald J. Drumpf use a BlackBerry?
Physical keyboard.
Communicating with family and friends means I don't have a life?
Call me new fashioned, but when I have to arrange going to an event with my real life friends then a service like whatsapp is essential. Not everyone checks their e-mails religiously and SMS is a pain when managing multiple people.
...and the various social-media apps are the first things I disable/reset-to-factory to free up space on any device I get.
As for why a BlackBerry? Same as everyone else: Keyboard, keyboard, keyboard.
I gave touch-screen keyboard a try for over a year, forced myself to stick with using an iPhone 4s recently and an iPad, tried the whole Apple Ecosystem thing even, gave it a solid try... and I found my ancient Nokia X2-01 I kept as a spare (the Symbian 40 candybar phone) to be more functional than my iPhone for text messaging or making calls.
But the instant I picked up a Priv to try it in the store? Sold. There's just zero comparison to the tactile feedback of a real physical keyboard no matter how tiny, ESPECIALLY with how large-fingered my hands are. I needed to upgrade to a new phone with the new push for better TLS settings so older devices are left out in the cold, but I lucked out that the Priv was released. Also holy cow the camera/video capability on this thing are beastly. O.o
Is it any more secure than any other Android phone? No idea. Is it wildly more usable than any other Android phone for me? You betcha. But I don't play games, my phone isn't a gaming console, I use it to reply to e-mails and messages (Telegram, Twitter, Skype), I use it for phone calls, and I use it for sat-nav when driving somewhere. So I'm VERY heavily text-input-oriented, which puts me well outside the realm of most mobile device users.
- WolfWings, still not logging into SlashDot, but still here.
I use my cell phone for texting - the Q5 has a great keyboard.
I bought a new one last fall for about 1/3 its original cost.
Telegram is an open-source version of Whatsapp - it imitates it very well, and it works like a charm. Telegram for Blackberry is still maintained. And of course, being open-source, in theory one can do the maintenance him/herself if they find a bug they want squashed.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
It's legally mandated by the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo that at least 65% of the population must carry at least one Blackberry at all times, and loudly proclaim their support for the platform.
Well, not really... but it seems that way. After having lived on the west coast for nearly 7 years, moving back here was a bit of a shock. There are Blackberries everywhere, and people won't stop talking about how awesome they are. I'm not talking current & ex-Blackberry employees, either. I mean, the general populace here - they *love* their BBs.
It's kinda weird.
The OS does support android programs. In my testing, it can be a bit hit and miss. I can use Nest, Slack, Netflix, and RepeaterBook no problem, though Slack is slow and doesn't support notifications for some reason (other apps do!). Firefox is no go. As is the OSS app store. Officially the Amazon App store is supported and it works. I've also side loaded the Google Play store and it works no problem. Some of the games I've tried worked.
Could it be, because I like it?
I love the keyboard. I'm more accurate with it. I'm slightly slower than typing on glass (this wasn't the case 3 years ago, but I have gotten a lot better with glass). However, punctuation, acronyms (important for my job), spelling non standard things - stuff that would just destroy autocorrect - these things work better with a physical keyboard.
The hub (BB10) and email support is simply great. It all works. It's fast. It's easily accessible from any screen or app. I also have extensive experience with Android and I find the email (Gmail) to be better, but slower. The Exchange support in the Gmail app is a damn trainwreck. MailWise (the only other app my company allows) is better, but still doesn't handle invites very well. Attachments (images) don't always come through. It's slow.
The battery life is great. Maybe because it's underpowered compared to other power hungry processors, but I can get it to last 2 days if needed, and it always makes it through the day. There are times my Android doesn't make it past 3 PM.
The rest of BlackBerry isn't very good. The app support is dismal. It's beyond a joke. The Android runtime was a good idea, but poorly implemented (no Google services) and behind (Android 4.0.x, locked into BB10 OS build). Everything else is OK, but not really worth writing home about.
Disagreeing with me does not mean you get to mod me troll.
Three letters...QNX. 'Nuff said.
I bought a Z-30 for the 16:9 screen ratio (so I can watch video without black bars on the sides) but absolutely love it for the intuitive operating system (compared to my wife's android) and especially the hub, which aggregates all messages (email, sms, skype, calendar reminders, etc.... even Whatsapp, but if that disappears, then people can contact me with BBM).
Android user since 2008. I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to spend some quality time with a BlackBerry Classic and completely fell in love with the interface, both touch based and the innumerable keyboard shortcuts. I have not not regretted my decision to jump ship. While on the one hand, I verified anything I might need is already available on the BB platform between either through the official BB store or the Android Amazon store, as a self-respecting nerd I already knew I was going to push the BlackBerry Android comparability layer as far as I could. It turns out there is no need to push. There is a Chrome extension that makes side-loading Android apps brain dead simple, and it's wireless. However, there is no need to use it repeatedly. There is an application for the BlackBerry platform called Snap. It is an Android application, that runs on the application layer that is a front end for the entire Google Play Store. Everything. I haven't used Facebook in years but for the sake of this article got it going off of the Play Store with no trouble at all. That and and an endless stream of other applications I keep trying. Do I run into weird shit? Sure I do. I am not a gamer by any stretch except of OpenArena and Sonic Dash. Sonic Dash in only available from the Play Store, but installs and works fine. Arena is available on the native store. But there was an issue with some randomly selected 3d driving game that I presume is popular. It used the gyroscope. It works fine until you either wreck or pass the first level. Then the gyroscope stops working. Once again, not a gamer, don't care, but understand others do. If that's you, stick with your gaming phone. The native assistant and NAV work great, but that did not stop me from installing Google Now and Mapuest Navigation, which is in my opinion the best maps\navigator around. After a few weeks with the device I could probably write a multi-thousand word article, but this is just a single post. Flame or ask away. I'll get to it tomorrow.
Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
Too bad all the comments above are about whether the BB is any good or not. They are not about the real issue: that it is shouldn't be news that some sort of communication stops working because of unsupported platform. If we all would be using open protocols for communication (like email, sms, irc, xmpp) instead of some proprietary centralized sillicon valley super .com's version of it, this wouldn't have been news. We would switch to another client or make one and not rely on whatever the .com's shareholders think is profitable. Facebook does not do what is best for internet users or does not do what is the best technical solution. They do whatever gives them the most amount of control for the least amount of money.
It's actually a win. Browsers can do pretty much all you really want out of this type of app. Xabber for xmpp + other chats anyways.
In short, BB works for me. Maps with driving navigation? Yes. (Hello my power-hungry Android friends, can your phone navigate with GPS and charge up off a USB socket? Z10 does that.) Shutdown the phone for weeks without charging then switch it on with live battery? Yes. (That requires inserting a post-it between battery contacts. Impossible with Apple phones.) Phone? Yes. SSH client? Yes. Wifi hotspot? Yes. Flashlight? Yes. (No app required.) Facebook, dunno, I don't use that stuff. Most things are inconvenient on a small screen anyway, so I carry a notebook for real work.
17779 eligible voters in a district, 17779 'vote' as one. This is Russia.
Now I'm glad I stuck with Symbian.
I've got a Z10, too, and loved it for about 2 years. The HUB is so much better than both Apple and Android with consolidating email, messages, etc.
That being said, I finally had to ditch BB 10 due to their crappy maps. At least once a week or so, it'd cost me 20 - 40 minutes by messing up directions due to outdated maps. I tried to use a Google Maps powered application, but even that delegated the mapping to the native Maps app. It's too bad BlackBerry didn't partner with Nokia's maps when they were more cash flush. For the most part, I can live without all the games and apps that work fine in BB 10's excellent browser.
But Maps, along with a the lack of a few messaging apps that I need to communicate with friends, are really a deal breaker now.
2 reasons why I still use the z10 (and just bought a z30 for $200):
- it runs native apps, meaning it has a normal development environment, you write your C/C++ program with a main() entry point and go into a loop that runs your app. No objc or java bullshit. The menu is not running on a virtual machine, which means it doesn't drop frames while scrolling the icons, and it doesn't shit all over your ram.
- The blackberry hub is amazing. It's not just a "notification center", all your emails and texts and chats are integrated with it, which means they are searchable, they open very fast, and you can scroll back and easily find messages from previous days, among other things. On my android, I see the little led blinking, but I've no idea what's happening. I have to check 5 different apps to find a message. I haven't seen anything equivalent in android or ios. It's too bad whatsapp and Facebook are dropping support, they'll still work as android apps, but their real value was the integration with the hub. I had some hopes about the hub for Android, but apparently the android version sucks, and it's not even available to install in non BlackBerry android phones.
--
Stay tuned for some shock and awe coming right up after this messages!
Q10 user here (got it as a gift, considering buying a BB Passport). I make sure I have the latest updates to the OS. Same arguments as have been advanced already by other BB users in this thread: the OS does true multitasking, physical keyboard (with auto-backlighting), the BB Hub (so much so that any other mobile OS **not** having something the like keeps me away from them), games not desired, Canadian company - plus several more.
1) I've noticed surprise with people on the other side of the world when using Skype on BB OS 10.3 over a flaky connection: "Dude, you in Europe over Skype on BB?! You sound crystal clear!"
2) The camera has an HDR mode, in which 3 images are shot within a very short time, resulting in amazing color depth.
3) A compass app using the phone's magnetometer is installed by default. I've used it to find my way in a place not yet charted by the Maps app and with no signal. Was very glad to have it.
4) The Maps app/feature. Precise, fast, up-to-date. I live in the German-speaking part of Europe, and the (female) voice of the app does a rather good job at pronouncing German street names.
5) OS stability. BB OS 10.3 is rock-solid, and can be configured to be extremely frugal with resources. Android feels like a toy, compared to it.
Summarizing, I don't see a single valid argument to move away from BB until the company has been dead for years, there are no more new batteries to be had and my last BB has breathed its last.
Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
This post sums it up for me! I went from Android to Blackberry, and I love it. Snappy multitasking, months between reboots, everything just works. The "hub" is great business communication tool, Messenger rocks, and Blend from PC to phone is sweet.
I will run BB until I can't get HTML browser support, which may be years away.
I thought BB had compatibility with Android applications. So why can't they just run the Android version of Facebook?
I just bought a BB Bold 99xx this weekend. Email? SMS? MMS? Web browser? Keyboard? Touchscreen? It can make a wifi hotspot now, too.
In my company, due to security needs, it is still the only supported corporate device.
That being said, it isn't that bad:
1. Runs most Android apps with the Amazon app store (so why is support dropped?)
2. Looks sort of like Android: sort of like Samsung devices sorta look like Android.
3. Battery life is amazing.
4. The personal/work modes are quite well implemented.
5. Gives corporate IT types a bit of comfort over cyber security worries.
Although Android is the clear majority, it is much more common to see a Blackberry than an Apple device in my world still.
Yep, there's a whole lot of backyard bias here.
Well, that dictates my next phone purchase: I'm getting a Blackberry!
- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.