No plans To Release Instagram for Blackberry 10, Says Facebook
In what could turn out to be a considerable blow to RIM’s upcoming operating system, Venturebeat has learned that Facebook has no intention of bringing its popular Instagram app to BlackBerry 10. While RIM has promised native apps from social network leaders such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare and, of course, Facebook, a company insider has shared that at least for the time being there are no plans to do the same for Instagram.
As much as non-users tend to dismiss Instagram as a silly little photo app, the fact is that there are over 100 million users posting thousands of photos per hour, all from just two platforms. While the iPhone provided the amniotic fluid in which Instagram gestated, its expansion to Android has been the true catalyst for growth, adding nearly 70 million users since April.
But for RIM, getting application makers to build for the platform is arguably the single most important factor to determining whether consumers go back to (or discover) BlackBerry, especially if task management flow is all the platform has to set it apart from iOS and Android. RIM has been providing thousands of developers with beta devices, dubbed Dev Alpha, on which they’ve been tasked to build the very apps that users will have access to at launch. They’re already accepting apps, despite the fact that the first devices will launch in Q1 2013.
However, Kevin Michaluk from CrackBerry on Monday disputed the report. Michaeluk has a well established track record reporting on RIM, and said that his sources have confirmed that RIM’s relationship with Facebook is still solid. He added that we “will see Instagram come to Blackberry 10.” He said he’s so confident that, if he’s wrong, he’s willing to buy somebody a car!
More on this to come!
