RIM says it plans to launch the new BlackBerry application store in March 2009, and app developers can start to submit their entries right now. RIM says that developers will be able to set their own prices for applications and will also get to keep 80% of the revenue. Yes, it’s (nearly) a carbon copy of Apple’s iPhone App Store, the ultra-successful experiment that some said would “never work” when it first started.
It’s expected that each of the operators carrying BlackBerry devices will have their own custom branded version of the BlackBerry application center.
According to statements from RIM, its application storefront and the on-device application center will ultimately give BlackBerry users a greater choice of more advanced applications, as well as an easier than iPhone method for managing installations, upgrades and purchases. RIM is working with PayPal to enable online payment for the applications too.
Nice, but we’ll see. Companies do a lot of talking and promising 6 months before something comes out. Will the new Blackberry Storm (and the Blackberry in general) carry a strong enough market presence to support its own App Store?
More gory details here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10071378-94.html
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Blackberry Storm 02.09.09 at 6:18 pm
I heard of BerryStore has already launched which is a competing app store for Blackberry Apps.