No Native Instagram App for BlackBerry Users

Not too long ago, Blackberry was put on the soon-to-be-deadpooled list of many tech experts, but this company has the tenacity of a an old boxer who wants to keep the championship belt in his corner. End January, Blackberry went the celebrity endorser route by naming Alicia Keys as its Global Creative Director. Although we don’t know exactly what the role entails – some details were mentioned, but who really knows? – the mere fact that such a personality is publicly associated with the brand says something. Additionally, the release of the BlackBerry Z10 and the new OS seems to be doing the company good, at least in certain parts of the world such as Canada, where the unit is reported to be outselling Samsung and the iPhone.

Good news for Blackberry, indeed. However, if you’re hot on certain apps, and you are considering switching or going back to Blackberry, your decision might be hindered by the fact that native apps aren’t always available for the platform, Instagram being one of them. Not everyone has an affinity for Instagram, but the 100 million-user strong platform is definitely a force to reckon with. Say what you want to say about filters covering up lacking photography skills and people posting what they had for lunch, but Instagram has an undeniable appeal.

So, if you are an avid user of Instagram, and you have a Blackberry phone in sight for your next purchase, you might want to think again. According to sources of AllThingsD who are close to Instagram, it doesn’t look like we’re going to see a native Instagram app on BlackBerry 10 any time soon. They even quoted an anonymous source whose statement seems to close the door to that possibility – soon or ever:

“There will be no [native] Instagram for BB10 for now. Frankly, I’m not sure there will ever be.”

Then again, official statements run somewhat contrary to that sentiment, with Martyn Mallick, BlackBerry’s VP Global Alliances, saying that while they do not have an availability date at this point, they “strong partnership and are actively engaged around Instagram support for BB10”. That’s not to say that there will be no native Instagram app for BB10 ever,  but that statement is keeping the door open.

That may be the official statement, but I wouldn’t put my eggs in that basket if I were you. Heck, even the new Global Creative Director has slipped up and posted on Instagram using her iPhone!

[Image via Design Boom]