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RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push

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Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push

#61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I'm not sure how submitting a BB app works With your dev license, you get access to RIM's signing service. You can distribute code any way you like, but you have to run it through the signing servers before it will run on a device. To shut you down, they just disable your account. Code that is already signed will run forever.

That's not actually true. You can sign an app without going through RIM; they provide code that does it. (Unlike iPhone, you can just download an app from anywhere on the Internet and install it, as long as somebody has signed it with any key at all.) However, you can't use their push servers without a RIM-signed app, which has apparently been revoked in this case.

Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push

#62
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's simple, secure, stable, allows for group chat, notifies you if the message was received or not, and is pre-installed on BlackBerries so everyone with a BlackBerry has it.

Secure? Stable? Could you elaborate? Are all messages encrypted? Are other applications so terrible now-a-days that "doesn't crash!" is a feature? Other than that, it sounds like IRC, with a read notification for those who just need to know if their message hasn't been read yet, or they're being ignored. I was reading the page looking for grandparent's question, and I still don't see why bbm would be such a huge feat…

The killer feature is that you know when the message was opened. With SMS/text-messaging you have no idea if it was received by anyone - since it might have been sent to a landline #.

Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push

#63
post #8

This 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…

Kik developeR was previously a project manager on bbm I believe.

Edit: someone below says he was an intern

Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Secure? Stable? Could you elaborate? Are all messages encrypted? Are other applications so terrible now-a-days that "doesn't crash!" is a feature? Other than that, it sounds like IRC, with a read notification for those who just need to know if their message hasn't been read yet, or they're being ignored. I was reading the page looking for grandparent's question, and I still don't see why bbm would be such a huge feat…

The killer feature is that you know when the message was opened. With SMS/text-messaging you have no idea if it was received by anyone - since it might have been sent to a landline #.

How many times do you mistakingly sms someone's landline, from your address book?

Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push

#65
post #8

This 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…

What exactly is so good about BBM? I've never owned or really spent much time using a blackberry because of the other reason's you've mentioned.

"Their OS is horrible, their devices are nothing special."

So what is it that users find so great about it? (Asking legitimately out of curiosity not sarcastically )

Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push

#66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure how submitting a BB app works With your dev license, you get access to RIM's signing service. You can distribute code any way you like, but you have to run it through the signing servers before it will run on a device. To shut you down, they just disable your account. Code that is already signed will run forever.

That's not actually true. You can sign an app without going through RIM; they provide code that does it. (Unlike iPhone, you can just download an app from anywhere on the Internet and install it, as long as somebody has signed it with any key at all.) However, you can't use their push servers without a RIM-signed app, which has apparently been revoked in this case.

Right, I forgot, there is a subset of the API that can be used by unsigned code but it's extremely limited.. just UI stuff I think.

Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push

#67
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The lock-in argument doesn't hold much water. RIM already provides IM clients for Google Talk, Yahoo, and MSN, with pretty much the exact same UI and features as BBM. The quality of their Google Talk client is one of the things keeping me on BlackBerry.

None of these are especially created for mobile. Or aimed squarely at BBM with the same features. I had been thinking about creating BBM for other platforms simply because I'd like to have it on my iPhone.

WhatsApp is a near approximation of BBM on the iPhone (and other devices, I believe).

Their reliability isn't great, however.

Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push

#68
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of these are especially created for mobile. Or aimed squarely at BBM with the same features. I had been thinking about creating BBM for other platforms simply because I'd like to have it on my iPhone.

WhatsApp is a near approximation of BBM on the iPhone (and other devices, I believe). Their reliability isn't great, however.

WhatsApp has better reliability, more handset clients, more features, and more users.

Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push

#69
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's simple, secure, stable, allows for group chat, notifies you if the message was received or not, and is pre-installed on BlackBerries so everyone with a BlackBerry has it.

Secure? Stable? Could you elaborate? Are all messages encrypted? Are other applications so terrible now-a-days that "doesn't crash!" is a feature? Other than that, it sounds like IRC, with a read notification for those who just need to know if their message hasn't been read yet, or they're being ignored. I was reading the page looking for grandparent's question, and I still don't see why bbm would be such a huge feat…

LandLandon, BBM is so popular for the reasons mentioned above. But the main reason is because it comes pre-installed with every blackberry - Just like Microsoft and Internet Explorer, you might as well ask the same question as to why Internet Explorer on windows is the most popular web browser in the world? when at the same time, it's the worst/most hated.

Ted Livingston worked for RIM and saw problem, a big gap that needed to be filled in. Which was, taking the best black berry app and making it accessible on every major smart phone out there.

Re: RIM kicks Kik off Blackberries: Revokes keys, disables push

#70
I'm not sure publishing an open letter to Blackberry is going to help Kiks cause. If there was any chance of them getting back onto Blackberry they should have kept the conversation private. The publicity generated by this is just going to cause resentment at RIM and Kik isn't big enough for RIM to worry about yet.
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