RIM hangs up on start-up Kik

Dylan Bushell-Embling
25 Nov 2010
00:00

Fast-growing messaging app Kik believes it has been pulled from the BlackBerry app store because the handset firm sees it as a threat.

Kik revealed Tuesday that RIM had blocked future sales of the Kik client from the BlackBerry App World, and has shut down “push” messages for the service, meaning messages sent to and from BlackBerry devices are delayed by up to an hour.

RIM has also revoked the startup's access to the BlackBerry Software Development Kit (SDK), freezing all future development on the BlackBerry version of the app.

Chief Ted Livington said he was confused by the decision. “We think it’s fair to say that, until very recently, our relationship has been nothing less than friendly,” he said.

RIM told GigaOM it had decided to shutter the service due to concerns over the application and service, adding that the SDK was pulled because Kik breached contractual agreements

BlackBerry users account for around a million of the 2.5 million users Kik has signed up since re-launching its service a fortnight ago. Services for iOS and Android devices are unaffected by RIM’s move, the firm said.

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