New online distribution channels to benefit consumers, carriers and developers as market for BlackBerry applications continues to grow
Again Straight from the People at RIM:
Santa Clara, CA – BlackBerry Developer Conference – Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced two major distribution initiatives for BlackBerry® smartphone applications at the BlackBerry Developer Conference. A new online application storefront and a new on-device application center will help application developers and carriers reach millions of BlackBerry® smartphone users worldwide and will provide consumers with greater choice, enhanced application discovery and an easy method for managing installation, upgrades, and purchases.
RIM plans to launch the application storefront in March 2009 and BlackBerry application developers can begin submitting their applications and content for inclusion in the storefront in December 2008. The storefront will allow developers to set their own prices for applications and developers will retain 80 percent of the revenue generated from their applications. RIM is working with PayPal, a leading global online payment service, to provide consumers with a convenient and trusted way to pay for applications within the new application storefront, right from their BlackBerry smartphone. Organizations that have deployed BlackBerry® Enterprise Server or BlackBerry® Professional Software will retain control of what applications can be downloaded to BlackBerry smartphones within their corporate deployments.
RIM is also working with its carrier partners to provide carrier-customized, on-device application centers to help foster after-market application downloads. The BlackBerry application center will allow each carrier to offer a convenient catalog right on the device where a customer can discover and download applications. RIM has already worked with carriers successfully to provide this type of on-device distribution system for individual software applications, such as the popular Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones application. The new BlackBerry application center will allow a carrier to build on that success with a broader catalog and provide customers with a convenient and easy method to purchase and download applications.
“The BlackBerry platform enjoys strong roots in the enterprise market and we continue to invest for growth and success with our enterprise channel partners, but the introduction of more consumer-friendly features in BlackBerry smartphones has clearly helped generate a groundswell of interest with new developers that has already resulted in the introduction of thousands of consumer and lifestyle oriented applications for BlackBerry smartphones,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “The new BlackBerry application storefront and BlackBerry application centers will further support the growing BlackBerry ecosystem and help bridge consumers with developers and carriers as more and more innovative and interesting applications arrive.”
RIM is already working with carrier partners on plans to roll out the BlackBerry application center on future BlackBerry smartphones. For more information on the BlackBerry application storefront, interested developers should visit www.blackberry.com/storefrontinfo and sign up to receive periodic updates.
DavidB Not Registered
Posted: October 22, 2008 at 8:51 AM EST from my BlackBerry 8830
Disappointed by the timing. RIM should have been set to receive apss NOW, as of announcement at BBDC, and have the store rolling in November when Storm (and Bold) hit the masses.
oakie Not Registered
Posted: October 27, 2008 at 11:25 PM EST
it’s about time they made a move to consolidate their apps as it’s frustrating to have to search all over to not only find the app you want but to get the best price as different stores have different pricing and different catalogs. it’s just too bad they’re forcing everyone to have to wait so long for it.
i have serious doubts about RIM’s ability to maintain the kind of excitement in the consumer space they have been getting as of late, especially as more and more people find out just how unfriendly the OS can be for security reasons.
the telltale sign being that apple recently beat RIM last quarter, 6.9m to 6.1m phones sold when apple has 3 phones in their lineup compared to RIM having no less than 9 devices (not including color variations) across triple the networks worldwide.
not being a hater… just cutting out the work RIM has to do.