RIM Announces Launch of BlackBerry App Store
Posted April 1st, 2009 by Brad Wellman
Brad Wellman
Spyder Trap Online Marketing
Today Research In Motion Ltd (RIM) – maker of BlackBerry devices – launched the BlackBerry App World, the official BlackBerry Application Store as their response to Apple’s iPhone/iPod Touch App Store. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as BlackBerry has been losing market share to both the Apple iPhone and Google G1 smartphones, both of which feature an application marketplace.
The BlackBerry App World features several free applications, from Social Media apps such as a Facebook, MySpace and AIM (sorry, no Twitter app…yet) to games, weather, and personal finance to name a few. Purchasing apps is pretty simple, although users need a PayPal account first, as PayPal is handling all the billing for BlackBerry’s App World. RIM is looking to work with carriers to allow users to make payments via their monthly bills.
Being brand new, the BB App World offers far fewer selections than Apple’s version. However, this should help BlackBerry grow in the future. Accordign to a post by TheMoneyTimes, “RIM said it expects about 1,000 applications to be posted on BlackBerry App World within a week. It is looking for applications from various partners including CC Media Holdings Inc.’s (CCMO) Clear Channel, Gameloft SA (GFT.FR), Viacom Inc.’s (VIAB) MTV Networks, the New York Times Co. (NYT) and Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM).”
So now that the long anticipated wait for BlackBerry Apps is over, what do you think of it? What are your favorite apps? What would you like to see in the future?
Tags: Apple iPhone, Applications, BlackBerry, Facebook, Google, MySpace, Online Marketing, Social Media, Twitter
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