Barnes & Noble is dropping support for the eReader app for the BlackBerry. The software will still work on BlackBerries, but it will no longer allow new content to be purchased through it, and any old or new content purchased will have to be sideloaded onto the BlackBerry rather than downloaded through the app.
I wonder if this means they’ll be replacing it with a “Nook” app, the way the B&N eReader for iOS transformed into a Nook app? Most of the commenters on the story don’t seem to think so, and I would think if it were the case B&N would have said so in the announcement. I find it more than a little strange that B&N is dropping support altogether for one of the most popular smartphone platforms in the country.
(Found via our sister blog, Gadgetell.)
B&N had already dropped support for Windows-based PDAs and smartphones (no, we don’t have to argue Windows’ dwindling market share), and never developed a Nook for Win-mobile app, forcing me to de-DRM and sideload any content I wanted to read on my phone.
I think B&N’s sole motivation is to limit apps to only the most popular devices, and try to convince everyone else to buy their Nooks, cutting back on the platforms they need to support (and the staff they need to pay for). There may also be some technical, licensing or security issue with the Blackberries that has proven to be too much of a pain for B&N to deal with in the future, but I stand with my first guess.