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Following in the footsteps of Apple, which came out with its application store for iPhone sometime back, BlackBerry-maker Research In More Pictures Motion (RIM) has launched 'BlackBerry App World'. The launch took place on April 1, 2009 and will allow BlackBerry users to download applications for their smart phones. They would be able to access BlackBerry App World over Wi-Fi as well as cellular networks.
Using BlackBerry App World, it will be possible to download software, screen backgrounds and games, free of cost. However, for some of the applications, the users will be charged a minimum of $2.99, with the payment being undertaken through eBay's paypal. In the initial stages, the online store will be available to BlackBerry smartphone users in the US, Britain and Canada only. However, with time, the application will be launched in other countries also.
As per the statement released by RIM, BlackBerry App World has been designed in such a way that it would present the relevant applications to a user automatically, depending upon the model of his BlackBerry smart phone. The homepage of the online store will showcase a number of applications, which will make it easy for users to browse through a select number of featured applications (which will vary from week to week)
The applications offered by BlackBerry App World include entertainment, games, maps and navigation, music and video, news and weather, personal finance and banking, personal health and wellness, professional and business, reference and ebooks, social networking and sharing, sports and recreation, and travel. Though the online store will not generate much revenue for RIM, it will surely help it expand its share of the smart phone market.
