BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) might not offer BBM app on Windows Phones citing small market. Speaking to Trusted Reviews, BlackBerry’s Senior Director of BBM Business developments, David Proulx said that the BBM could not be launched on the Windows platform due to market conditions where the operating system from Microsoft does not hold substantial share.
He said that the decision to keep BBM from Windows is not a “religious thing,” but only the decision is taken only on the basis of shortage of consumer demand.
Lack of demand
From the statement of Prolux, it is quite evident that the demand of BBM on Windows phone is still short of the point where BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) would decide to tap it. The popular app will not be ported on Windows even after other two prominent operating systems, Android and iOS have BBM messaging app and the download number reached around 10 million within 24 hours of launch.
Proulx added, “Our initial launch on iOS and Android was a function of the prevalence of those platforms.” However, Proulx did not deny any possibility of the app for Windows, in future. He added that if the demand grows substantially then it would be worth considering. He said that any other platform that emerges has a possibility of getting the BBM app.
“It’s just a function of when does it make sense and when it is something that consumers demand in sufficient numbers to make it worth our while and worth their while.”
Windows popularity rising
Though Windows platform has developed substantially, it has failed to allure some of the best app developers in comparison to iOS and Android platform. There have been a number of popular apps launched on Windows phone recently like Whatsapp, Vine and Instagram. BlackBerry has, however, not launched any of its apps on the platform, and is just keeping an eye on the development of the platform and consumer demand.
Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC’s Mobile Phone team said that both Android and Windows phone have substantially surged in the third quarter. He noted that Windows, as well as Android have a fine assortment of mobile phones at low price to capture the mass market.
