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RIM opens the BlackBerry Application storefront, says it's going to shake up "Music 2.0"
Better late than never, we suppose -- joining Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Palm, RIM's officially opened the BlackBerry Application Storefront to submissions, just a hair after the December launch we'd originally heard. It sounds like RIM's going to be doing more an Apple-style closed market than an Android-style free-for-all: apps will be "considered" for inclusion in the Storefront, which is scheduled to go live in March at CTIA. The lockdown's not a big shocker considering RIM's corporate userbase, but we're can't say we're huge fans of this new trend toward closed stores. In any event, it sounds like RIM's seeing big potential for its fledging shop -- co-CEO Jim Balsillie recently told a panel that he's expecting "dozens of music apps" in the store, which he thinks will be able to capitalize on the (sigh) "birth of digital music 2.0." We're not sure exactly what Jim means -- he mostly said things like "remarkable revenue enhancement strategy" and "radical and dramatic enhancing set of opportunities" -- but we're all for shaking up the music business, so bring it on. It can't be any worse than SlotMusic.[Via Boy Genius Report]Read - BlackBerry Application Storefront submission pageRead - Balsillie wants to shake up music
RIM readies BlackBerry Application Storefront and Application Center
Big surprise here and all, but we hear RIM is actually thinking of crafting an App Store of its own in order to not get lapped by the likes of Apple and Google. Made official today was Research In Motion's plans to introduce a pair of "major distribution initiatives" for BlackBerry applications: the BlackBerry Application Storefront and the BlackBerry Application Center. The former is slated to launch in March 2009 (translation: forever from now), though developers can begin submitting their apps and content beginning in December. Similar to Apple's initiative, RIM will give devs the ability to set prices and retain 80% of all revenue from sales, and it will be giving the rest of the dough to working with PayPal for transactions. Of course, enterprise admins can still maintain control over what apps can be downloaded onto company phones, but you know you can sweet talk the boss into relaxing some of those restrictions. The Application Center is a carrier-customized, on-device tool for providers to host specific programs for customers. Details on deployment (and more importantly, app screening) are all but nil, but considering we've got until March before we can even use the Storefront, we can wait. Angrily.[Via phonescoop]
