According to Kik’s blog, BlackBerry has frozen the downloading service for the instant messaging application.  Also, the smartphone manufacturer has blocked access to the BlackBerry Software Development Kit and Signing Keys. There seems to be no clear reason for this measure, as Kik is reporting to have offered specific solutions to battery life and privacy issues.

The banning seems to put an end to a fast-paced interest for the instant messaging application. The blog claims that 1 million of its current 2.5 million users are Blackberry users, and RIM’s decision is deleting the service within handset users with almost an hour.

The unexpected decision of blocking is even more disturbing, as Kik was included in the upcoming version of BlackBerry and Kik’s special music service, awarded with a special nomination at BlackBerry DevCon.

The story, from Kik’s perspective:

“Early Friday morning, I awoke to a deeply dismaying and wholly unexpected message from BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM). It boils down to this: RIM is kicking BlackBerry users off Kik.

Kik had already been excluded from BlackBerry App World, so no new Kik downloads have been possible for BlackBerry users. But now RIM has shut down “push” access; as a result, messages to BlackBerry users will be delayed by up to an hour. RIM has also now removed access to the BlackBerry Software Development Kit and Signing Keys, so any future development is frozen.

On behalf of our nearly one million Kik users on Blackberry devices, we truly hope RIM reverses these steps.

If you’re an iPhone or Android user, you are not affected (except for Kik message delays to and from friends using BlackBerrys). If you’re not yet on Kik, you can continue to download Kik on Apple’s App Store and the Android Market.

As you likely know, Kik went massively viral after our Oct. 19 re-launch – on all three smartphone platforms. Two weeks in, we had 1 million users. Now we have 2.5 million users, and we’re still growing (even without new BlackBerry downloads).

However, for BlackBerry users and our little company, RIM’s actions are a huge blow.

We have worked day and night to build a super-fast, reliable and free cross-platform instant messaging app. This includes more than a year of development for BlackBerry smartphones. We have worked cooperatively with RIM at every step. We think it’s fair to say that, until very recently, our relationship has been nothing less than friendly.

RIM placed Kik on BlackBerry App World without issue. Kik’s upcoming mobile music service received a special award at BlackBerry DevCon about a year ago, and was named by RIM just six weeks ago as one of the first five featured apps to be included in its upcoming BBM platform.

We are very grateful for RIM’s past assistance and support. We’re honoured that they welcomed us with open arms. And we have responded fully to any concerns they have raised. We know battery life and privacy could not be concerns, because we have completed an update that sips battery power and provides additional privacy controls, and have offered it to RIM.”

On the other side, RIM is increasing efforts in app market improvements. For the new version of the  BlackBerry OS 6.0, the Canadian developer is concerned with customizing and improving the functionality of the new smartphone, while conserving the handiness in terms of communication and navigation.

In other RIM news, Apple seems to be poaching sales staff from RIM.  It’s another area Apple is encroaching on RIM’s space, as it’s already made a big dent in RIM’s hold on the business mobile user market.  As Apple increases its efforts around enterprise placment, a hefty sales staff will also be an important requisite for Apple moving forward.  Mobile app markets are important in this push, as they’ve enabled Apple to enter the business market in the first place.