Google is pulling the plug on the Gmail in BlackBerry and the email app will no longer be downloadable to the smartphone.

The app will only be available to BlackBerry users until Nov. 22, after which Google will no longer offer it to the Reseach in Motion (RIM) smartphone nor provide support service for it, the search engine said on its website on Tuesday.

"BlackBerry users will need to access Gmail accounts via their built-in Web browser rather than via a dedicated app," Digital Trends quoted Google as saying.

Gmail installed on Blackberry will still work and can still be used. However, if a device gets wiped or lost, Google won't offer any help or any way to recover the app.

Google did not give a reason for the move except that it plans to focus on the "mobile browsing experience" for Gmail.
Google's operating system for mobile devices, the Android, supports Gmail.

Ironically, Google made the Gmail available to Apple's iOS though it had to withdraw it due to bugs.

RIM has yet to comment on the Google announcement, which is a new blow to the BlackBerry maker. RIM is still reeling from the loss of some customers following an outage of its global service in October, delays in the launching of its new products and a decreasing stock price and share of the key U.S. smart phone market.

RIM has an 11.6 percent share of the U.S. smartphone market as of June, down from 48 percent five years ago , the research firm IDC said.