New York Times drops BlackBerry app

BlackBerry users can no longer use the official New York Times app to read news stories over their devices, in a fresh blow to Research In Motion (RIM-T), the maker of the smartphone once considered an essential tool for business professionals.

New York Times Co, which publishes the prestigious newspaper, said it had stopped supporting its applications for BlackBerry and the Palm Pre as of Monday, meaning the apps will no longer download news stories.

"It's a matter of usage of our apps, and we dedicate our resources where we think there's the highest level of usage," said New York Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy. "We've seen a drop-off."

But Murphy said the company has not ruled out developing an app for devices that will run on RIM's new operating system, BlackBerry 10, due out early next year.

"That decision has not been made, and it's entirely possible that we might," she said.

BlackBerry users can still read the paper over their phones via the New York Times website.

"Currently, our mobile website offers a more complete New York Times experience than the NYTimes app native to your device," said a notice to customers on the New York Times website.

RIM brought mobile email into the mainstream with its first BlackBerry devices more than a decade ago, but its market share has evaporated as consumers flock to Apple Inc's iPhone and devices based on Google Inc's Android system.

The company's sales have flagged as customers switch to competing devices or put off upgrading ahead of the BlackBerry 10 launch.

RIM could not immediately be reached for comment.