YouMail ditches BlackBerry app over 'steady exodus'

Visual voicemail company YouMail has added new features to its BlackBerry app but the company also said it will be the last update for the foreseeable future bound for RIM's operating system as its users migrate to competing mobile OSes.

The YouMail team originally started work on developing for the BlackBerry platform in 2007 and attributes some of its success to a strong early adoption from users of BlackBerry devices.

However, the company said in a blog post on Friday that the number of people now using the app on BlackBerry devices has dwindled as users have migrated to other platforms like the Apple iOS or Google Android mobile operating system.

"It's a bittersweet release for us [...] We are suspending doing any further work on our BlackBerry app, at least for now," YouMail said in a statement. "This was a tough decision, especially since the BlackBerry is what got us our first million registered users and put us on the map as a company. But over the past year we've seen our BlackBerry audience steadily shrink, with a steady exodus of those users moving to the iPhone and to Android."

The company also noted that on some days it has more users accessing the service from third-party Windows Phone 7 apps than it does its own BlackBerry app. YouMail does not currently have its own Windows Phone 7 app.

YouMail has not completely ruled out the possibility of future updates "if BlackBerry stages a comeback" with its BlackBerry 10 platform or "if we can figure out how to drive a meaningful number of new BlackBerry users".

The update brings a number of bug fixes for better app stability, which also makes the user interface much more responsive, the company said. The app also now offers the option of blocking unwanted callers from leaving voicemail messages. It also removes the adverts from the free version of the app.

Picture credit: YouMail