One of the reasons why many people would get a BlackBerry phone back in the day was because of BBM. Friends would use BBM and if you wanted to be “cool” and part of group chats, you’d need to get a BlackBerry phone just for that feature. Now that BBM has been released for all platforms, it seems that the Canadian company thinks Apple should follow suit.In a post on the BlackBerry website about the issue on net neutrality, BlackBerry’s CEO pointed out that net neutrality should also be extended to app and content providers, not just wireless and broadband carriers. “Unlike BlackBerry, which allows iPhone users to download and use our BBM service, Apple does not allow BlackBerry or Android users to download Apple’s iMessage messaging service.”
Chen also points fingers at Netflix where the video service is currently not available on BlackBerry devices, to the point where he believes that the government should step in to prevent discrimination against the BlackBerry platform. That being said we have to wonder if there is a difference between exclusivity and net neutrality.
The idea behind net neutrality is to prevent wireless carriers and broadband providers to offer customers who are willing to pay more for better service, while those who pay the regular fees will get normal service. Platform exclusivity does seem to be an entirely different story as it would be a means for a company to distinguish its products from the rest.
In any case what do you guys make of Chen’s argument? Do you think that net neutrality should be extended to apps and content providers as well?
Filed in . Read more about Apps, BlackBerry and Imessage.