Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) had a good day today. The company was able to announce the acquisition of a major contract, from Canadian Tire Corporation Limited (TSE:CTC) (TSE:CTC.A) and the firm’s shares traded up by more than 2.5 percent on today’s market. The company’s BB10 platform might just make it, but it is missing one major application, Skype.
The almost universally used video conferencing software is still not available as an application on Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) handsets, leading to theories that the omission is one Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is using to strategically limit demand for its competitor. A story in the Wall Street Journal explored the issue today.
In the current mobile market there are two giants, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), and two companies vying for third place, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB). When Research In Motion announced BB10 in January, Skype was slated to be available on their phones, yetthree months later the Microsoft app has still not arrived.
Both Microsoft and Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) are aiming to popularize their phones in the enterprise market, a place where Skype is a near must have. Reports suggest that the Android version of the Skype app is due to be ported to the BB10 platform, but, according to the piece in the Wall Street Journal, sources close to development say it has faced challenges, and is likely to be delayed for some time.
In a statement Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) said, “Skype has not previously announced a delivery date for the Skype app for BlackBerry 10 devices. We continue to work closely with BlackBerry to provide the best user experience and are on track to deliver a high-quality product on this platform.”
The question is whether or not there is a definite strategy at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to delay the release of the software in order to hamper the appeal of Blackberry devices. It would make sense for the company, but it could raise the eyebrows of some regulators.
Proving anything of the sort would be next to impossible, but questions about the delay are prominent in the Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) community. With the Wall Street Journal reporting on the subject, it may be time for Microsoft to release a beta of the App, in order to quell the protest of Blackberry users.
