Whatsapp, the world’s most popular messaging application will not be available on the BlackBerry platform come 2017. Especially to the Facebook owned company, so many faithful Nigerian BlackBerry say they will choose the Canadian mobile brand over Whatsapp.
BlackBerry might have lost face all over the world, though it is still a dearly beloved brand in the world’s most populous black nation for variety of reasons. The easy-to-use physical keyboard associated with many of the older blackberry models is one of them.
Android and Apple devices have relegated the physical QWERTY to the middle ages, it is still a feature loved by so many Nigerians. Another important point to note is the price factor. As a result of the BlackBerry boom in Nigeria few years ago, the country’s major networks designed special \services for the subscribers who used the brand. The average customers internet needs can be met with a one-off payment of N1000 a month. This feature, unavailable on other platforms makes the use of data more expensive on other Smartphones.
Princess Nwadinobi is attracted to the blackberry brand for this very reason. “I hate the fact that Whatsapp is leaving BlackBerry. With a cheap subscription fee, I can browse easily every month on my BlackBerry unlike other phone brands that will cost me more. I think I’ll still stick to my BlackBerry because even without whats app, I can talk and do business with my customers through the BlackBerry messenger and Facebook messenger.
“I won’t get a new phone even when I can no longer use Whatsapp on my BlackBerry. I’d rather do without the app. ”Though There are still a few who might leave BlackBerry for Whats app.
It is unlikely that you’ll find a BlackBerry shelf when you go to a dealer in brand new devices-at least not in the Lagos metropolis. But is it doesn’t mean that BBs are no longer sold in Nigeria. Just like with almost everything ‘Tokunbo’, the second-hand mobile market here is a thriving one, and Blackberries are still a major part of that market. Nigerians are still using Blackberries every day and that’s unlikely to change overnight or even in the next three months even when Whatsapp will say goodbye to Blackberry.