Not duplicating or competing with the BlackBerry email as well as messaging (BBM) is an explicit part of one of the several legal agreements that developers and RIM partners have to agree to. Technically, KiK is in violation of these terms, which in turn gives RIM legal grounds to kick them out.
RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push
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Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push
#32Once again somebody suffers because they compete directly with a core feature of a platform they use to distribute/market themselves. It wouldn't surprise me if all (FB, Apple, Twitter, now RIM) but one (Android) digital platform curation teams acted in the same way. Of course, it is their platform, their right. Android can afford not to because Google have a different business model.
Android seems to have the same problem with Skype: since Google's business model is different from the other mobile OS developers, it falls to the handset makers and carriers to make those sorts of ridiculous decisions. Verizon being the sole carrier with Skype will hurt Skype's adoption on mobile phones because if you want to talk to someone with an Android phone, they have to be a Verizon customer. Thus, it isn't a…
Sole carrier with Skype in the USA.
Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push
#33This is just painfully stupid. Finally an app on Blackberry actually garners some attention, and RIM kicks it off the market. For anyone who has ever bitched about Apple being draconian, this is just another example of what the mobile app world was like before the App Store. It really wasn't all unicorns and rainbows and happy developers skipping through the meadow. It was locked down and cost absurd amounts of money…
It depends how you define 'stupid'.
I see advertisements day in and day out for BBM. Not for RIM's latest phone, not for a new RIM app, but specifically for BBM. Why? Because RIM has realized that one of the only things keeping a large % of their user base around is BBM. Their OS is horrible, their devices are nothing special, but BBM is arguably the best mobile messaging product out there (so good that Kik pretty much copied it exactly).
I have friends that won't replace their BBs solely because they feel as though they'll lose touch with their friends that use BBM (I know, SMS, email etc. all seem like fair replacements but in practice they aren't...BBM is superior for a # of reasons).
Now, what is Kik doing? It is offering a comparable messaging platform that allows BBM users to speak with their friends no matter what device they are using. If I tell my friends with BBs to get Kik and we all start to use it consistently, then eventually one of us can go get that iPhone we've always wanted. Then another one etc.
Kik is on the verge of breaking into the walled garden that is BBM and RIM is obviously not too happy about it.
Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Disagree. 1) Kik claims to have already submitted a new version of the app that addressed these concerns. 2) The app was already approved and into the store. How is his responsible behavior? 3) How does further disabling Kik’s ability to distribute new versions of the app (by revoking signing keys) help? 4) How does crippling the UX (by disabling push) of the existing install base help anyone? That isn’t, as you say,…
1) Kik claimed. RIM may not have agreed. 2) Maybe it was flagged after it was originally approved. 3) I agree. I'm not sure how submitting a BB app works - I assumed the key was at app-level, not company-level, but I've never submitted a BB app before. 4) This is probably related to the battery life issue. Don't get me wrong - If they kicked it out for being "too similar to BBM", that's a dick move. But if Kik didn't…
> 1) Kik claimed. RIM may not have agreed.
On the other hand, Apple generally doesn't like other people to play fast and loose with their own user's data, yet no peep so far from them?
Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push
#35Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can only speculate on the reasoning, but Kik competes with BlackBerry Messenger, which is one of the key features that keeps Blackberry competitive in the smartphone market. Its exclusivity to Blackberry devices gives them some network-effect lock-in to the vendor and it is the best messaging system out there. A lot of their marketing is focusing on how great BBM is and how buying a Blackberry gives you access to t…
That sounds probable, but I don't think that's the whole story. First, every major IM provider is available on BlackBerrys (AIM, MSN, GoogleTalk, ICQ, WhatsApp...). Most of these clients are even co-written by RIM themselve and use the same BlackBery-PUSH service as BBM. Just take a look here: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/category/51?lang=en Also they didn't just kick them out of the store, but revoked PUS…
> That sounds probable, but I don't think that's the whole story. First, every major IM provider is available on BlackBerrys
Other IMs are very, very crummy experiences compared to BBM between BB devices. Kik is the first one that may be able to compete with and replace BBM (if only because it took a lot of "inspiration" from BBM), which is a big danger for BB as BBM is the only strength they have in the consumer market (in the US a blackberry is a corp phone, but in Europe it's used a lot by high-texting-volume teenagers and young adults)
Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push
#37This is just painfully stupid. Finally an app on Blackberry actually garners some attention, and RIM kicks it off the market. For anyone who has ever bitched about Apple being draconian, this is just another example of what the mobile app world was like before the App Store. It really wasn't all unicorns and rainbows and happy developers skipping through the meadow. It was locked down and cost absurd amounts of money…
It depends how you define 'stupid'. I see advertisements day in and day out for BBM. Not for RIM's latest phone, not for a new RIM app, but specifically for BBM. Why? Because RIM has realized that one of the only things keeping a large % of their user base around is BBM. Their OS is horrible, their devices are nothing special, but BBM is arguably the best mobile messaging product out there (so good that Kik pretty mu…
Fair enough, and that's quite likely what RIM is thinking.
But do you think it's a smart strategy for RIM to try to stay relevant by blocking hot apps on their platform? would it not be a more sane strategy for them to make their devices better, and to open up their platform so that others can easily develop more great apps on it?
This just seems like such a dumb short-sighted move.
Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push
#38 [Update: RIM has now responded with the following comment,
referring to a breach of "contractual obligations," but is
not specifying what those obligations were: "RIM became
aware of a number of issues and customer concerns regarding
the Kik app and service. Following discussions with Kik, the
app was removed from BlackBerry App World on November 12.
Upon further investigation, RIM concluded that Kik had
breached contractual obligations. Based on the broad scope
and seriousness of the issues and concerns, RIM terminated
its agreements with Kik and withdrew RIM’s support for Kik’s
service.']
Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push
#39This is just painfully stupid. Finally an app on Blackberry actually garners some attention, and RIM kicks it off the market. For anyone who has ever bitched about Apple being draconian, this is just another example of what the mobile app world was like before the App Store. It really wasn't all unicorns and rainbows and happy developers skipping through the meadow. It was locked down and cost absurd amounts of money…
It depends how you define 'stupid'. I see advertisements day in and day out for BBM. Not for RIM's latest phone, not for a new RIM app, but specifically for BBM. Why? Because RIM has realized that one of the only things keeping a large % of their user base around is BBM. Their OS is horrible, their devices are nothing special, but BBM is arguably the best mobile messaging product out there (so good that Kik pretty mu…
Could you elaborate on why BBM is superior? When I ask friends who use the service they tell me their favorite features are instant communication (Jabber clients on other devices also have this right?) and the fact that they can tell when the other party has viewed their message (something I'd personally disable).
Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
As have been a disproportionate number of Canadian software engineers, one should add.
I'm not sure what you mean by this.
RIM employs a pretty absurd number of software engineering interns. If you've done software internships in Canada, odds are you've worked for RIM at some point.
I've also heard horror stories stemming from this - some teams have such a high reliance on interns (cheap labour, hurrah!) that code quality is truly abysmal.