BlackBerry, once king of mobile, makes plans to kill its app store

BlackBerry  announced plans to shut down the official BlackBerry app store by December 2019. By the way, did you know BlackBerry still has an app store?

The app store will be the final casualty of BlackBerry's switch to Android, which officially happened back in 2015 with the release of the Priv. Since then, BlackBerry gave up on manufacturing its own phones, and its BlackBerry 10 (BB10) platform — its last attempt to stake out its own mobile OS with phones like the Z10 — has withered since then. (The company's older, more popular devices like the Curve ran BBOS.)

BlackBerry now focuses on enterprise software with an emphasis on security. It still releases Android phones on a regular basis, but they're manufactured by TCL. 

BlackBerry sold just 200,000 phones last year, which meant it had approximately 0% of the global smartphone market.

roprietary technologies BlackBerry Travel, which let BB users plan and book trips on their devices, and PlayBook video calling, the video conferencing app for the company's infamous PlayBook tablet, will be shut down in February and March 2018 respectively. Killing the apps, the company told Mashable, is a natural step in the company's swing towards software.

The company would not disclose the number of people who are still using the apps.

BlackBerry may be irrelevant in the main ways consumers use their phones today, but it will be missed. The company's announcement sparked a wave of nostalgia on Twitter as people look back to the glory days of the physical keyboard. 

Raegan Subban@raegansubban

Picture this: it's Christmas 2010. Your parents surprise you with a blackberry curve. You get all your friends to broadcast "Add my friend, PIN: 507B160X." You screen munch your barcode, post it to twitter then change your status on BBM to "Best Christmas ever."

8:06 PM - Dec 16, 2017

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Emily Richeson@ejg_13

Picture this: It’s 2008 and you’re getting ready for the all night skate on Friday night while blaring Kiss Me Thru The Phone. You’re wearing an Abercrombie tight shirt with Hollister jeans and you just got the new Blackberry phone for all your tExTs L!kE TH!S

6:25 PM - Dec 14, 2017

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Shannon Fraser@sshannonfraser

PICTURE THIS: It's 2011, the Kim Possible ringtone can be heard from your blackberry curve. It's the guy you're "wheeling", he sends a broadcast to let everyone know he's having a jam. You show up in your crop top, TNA pants and Nike high tops."Like a G6" plays in the background.

5:41 AM - Dec 15, 2017 · Mississauga, Ontario

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Georgie Manser@georgie_manser

Wasn't it such a dream when your blackberry used to run out of charge and you could just swap your battery with your friends #bliss

9:12 PM - Dec 12, 2017

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However, BlackBerry loyalists (all five of you), don't lose hope.  

BlackBerry says it will offer a trade-up program that will allow you to upgrade your BB10 or BBOS device to a BlackBerry KeyOne or Motion, both of which run Android, for a huge discount.