WhatsApp to end support for BlackBerry and Nokia phones

- Media application, WhatsApp has announced that it would no longer support BlackBerry, Nokia, and other older operating systems  including Android 2.1 and 2.2, and Windows Phone 7.1 by the end of 2016

- The decision is documented to be for the company to expand its operational base

Users of  WhatsApp, are to expect a major disappointment in the next few months as the tech-giant company has revealed its plans to cut off support for BlackBerry (including BlackBerry 10), Nokia S40, and Nokia Symbian S60 by the end of this year.It will also no longer support Android 2.1 and 2.2 or Windows Phone 7.1

An announcement by the company reveals that even though it has recorded over a billion monthly active users, the decision was purely based on a management decision citing the need to expand beyond mobile telephony.

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"While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future,” the announcement added. “This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp,” the statement reveals.

Even though the news is being received with dismay in many regions, particularly developing markets like Ghana where Nokia’s older operating systems still enjoy some market share, the company still holds on to its decision to move on.

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In Ghana, over 85% of smartphone subscribers are documented to be actively engaged on WhatsApp platforms as it has been considered as the most affordable means of communication and business interactions.

CREDIT: venturebeat.com

Source: YEN.com.gh