T-Mobile will stop
selling BlackBerry phones as of April 25. BlackBerry owners who use T-Mobile
will still be able to use their phones and get product support even after the
deadline, but the contract between the two companies won't be renewed,
BlackBerry said in a statement Wednesday.
"Regretfully, at
this time, our strategies are not complementary and we must act in the best
interest of our BlackBerry customers," said BlackBerry CEO John Chen.
T-Mobile stopped
stocking its shelves with BlackBerry devices last year, citing weak demand.
In 2013, competitors
ate up most of the market. Google's Windows phones making up 2.5%, according to
marketing intelligence firm IDC. BlackBerry was a distant fourth place, with a
mere 1.5%.
Earlier this year
T-Mobile emailed its subscribers who use BlackBerry, encouraging
them to switch to Apple iPhones. Chen came out swinging in a blog post, calling
T-Mobile's promotion "inappropriate and ill-conceived."
T-Mobile CEO John
Legere then apologized for the campaign, tweeting "BlackBerry users, I'm
hearing you loud and clear. Let me work with the team and get back with
you." He changed the upgrade offer to allow BlackBerry owners get an
upgrade without ditching their BlackBerrys.
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