Google ditches its Gmail app for Blackberry phones

SOFTWARE HOUSE Google will end support for the native Gmail app for Blackberry devices by the end of this month.

Support will end on 22 November and after that date users will still be able to use it, but not turn to Google for any help, while one else will be able to download it.

"Over this past year, we've focused efforts on building a great Gmail experience in the mobile browser and will continue investing in this area," said Google in an advisory.

"Users may continue to use the app, if installed, however it will not be supported by Google, or available for download starting November 22. BlackBerry users can continue to access Gmail through the mobile web app at http://www.gmail.com in their BlackBerry web browser."

In a FAQ Google said that only the download link for the Gmail app for Blackberry devices is being removed - we struggled to find it anyway - and that it wanted to concentrate on developing its own mobile web browser experience.

Google might be looking to wrest its users away from smartphones that compete with its Android partners, however RIM does offer its own enhanced Gmail plug-in for users of its native email application on Blackberry devices, which offers the same features and more.

"RIM is known for providing an industry leading mobile communications experience. Since 2009, RIM has incorporated native support for Gmail in BlackBerry OS 5.0 and above, which means that a separate Gmail app is not required. The large majority of users who access Gmail on their BlackBerry smartphone already rely on the native support (provided through BlackBerry Internet Service) rather than the separate Gmail app," it said in a statement.

"RIM will of course continue to work on enhancing this experience further over time. In addition to utilizing this native support, BlackBerry users can also access Gmail through our industry leading webkit browser with full support for HTML5." µ