Mumbai: BlackBerry Ltd stated that it will not renew its license with T-Mobile US Inc to sell BlackBerry products, after the current contract expires on April 25. It also further claimed that it wouldn't stop providing service and support to the existing customers on T-Mobile's network or those who will buy products from the carrier's inventory.
"Regretfully, at this time, our strategies are not complementary and we must act in the best interest of our BlackBerry customers," said John Chen Chief Executive of BlackBerry. BlackBerry said it is working closely with other carrier partners to provide users with alternatives should they decide to switch from T-Mobile.
The relationship between the two companies soured after Blackberry's CEO criticized T-Mobile for sending out emails to some of its customers in February, pitching free iPhone 5s and touting the promotion as a great offer for BlackBerry customers. This sparked an uproar on social media forums after some of the telecommunications company's loyal BlackBerry customers reacted angrily to the offer, which they perceived as a slight.
BlackBerry, a one-time pioneer in the smartphone industry, has been struggling to claw back market share lost to Apple Inc's iPhone, Samsung Electronics Co Galaxy devices, and other smartphones powered by Google Inc's Android operating system.
