BlackBerry users can from today browse and buy a broad mix of personal and business applications that can be downloaded directly onto their mobile, after RIM open its App World online store.
Mike Lazaridis, president of Research in Motion said, “BlackBerry App World aggregates a wide variety of apps in a way that makes it very easy to discover the apps that suit, while preserving the appropriate IT architecture and controls required by our enterprise customers.”
The long-awaited move copies that of Apple, which has been hugely successful with its App Store. Like App Store, some downloads will be free and others available for a small charge in Blackberry App World.
It’s said that RIM’s App World will be available on all BlackBerry devices that are fitted with a track ball, including the Pearl, Curve, Bold and 8800 series mobiles. The company said that App World is immediately available to BlackBerry smartphone users in the US, UK and Canada, with more country launches to follow.
The online store will be configured like Apple’s with downloads being ranked and rated according to popularity and theme, and App World customers will be able to recommend applications to other people through email, PIN, SMS message or BlackBerry Messenger.
RIM expects approximately 1,000 applications to be posted by partners this week, including applications from popular brands such as Bloomberg, New York Times and salesforce.com.
Content from our partners
