App stores have been around for the iPhone and recently, one was launched for phones with the Android OS. Not the ones to be left behind competition, Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) on Tuesday announced that it will offer an online application storefront,in addition to an an on-device application center to make it convenient and easier for BlackBerry users to search for, purchase, or download programs for their handsets.
Until now, BlackBerry applications have been available on websites like Getjar and Handango, but this latest announcement will give BlackBerry users an equivalent of Apple's App Store for the iPhone, or the Android Market for the G1. This was announced at the first BlackBerry Developer Conference in Santa Clara, California.
Mike Lazaridis, president and co-CEO of RIM, in a statement said "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."
Though these storefronts are planned to be launched in March 2009, developers can start submitting content in December this year and RIM is currently asking for interested developers to signup. As of now, it seems that RIM will vet what goes into the store, in a way similar to what Apple does.
RIM is also in talks with PayPal2 to facilitate transactions and the content creators will be allowed to keep 80% of the revenue generated from their apps. It would be interesting to note that the content creator will get higher than what they get at Apple's App Store, since Apple Inc. gives them 70%. Google on the other hand has said that they will not take any revenue from content creators for apps sold in the Android Market.
Corporations who have deployed BlackBerry Enterprise Server or BlackBerry Professional Software will retain control of what applications can be downloaded to the BlackBerry smartphones by their employees within the corporate deployments. Whether or not there will be a "kill-switch" remains to be seen, though.
RIM is aggressively pursuing the "prosumer" and casual market with the launch of the app store and by introducing new consumer-friendly devices such as the BlackBerry Curve, Flip and the touch-screen Storm. Lazaridis said in a keynote on Tuesday that RIM's roots and success in the enterprise market is bound to give it an edge over its competitors in the consumer market.
"This platform has been developed, evolved, and perfected in the most demanding markets around the world. The consumer wireless data market is taking off, and that's a great opportunity for all of you," continued Lazardis as he talked to developers.