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Verizon to its smartphones: thou shalt have no other app store before mine
Verizon's getting very keen on entering the app store industry, but not without some rough decrees to its smartphone partners. According to GigaOm, VP Partner Management Ryan Hughes said in an interview Friday that its shop will house content from all the major platforms under one roof, with purchases being billed through the customer's Verizon account and not requiring a separate signup / credit card entry. Convenient for consumers, and devs are also being promised a more streamlined approval process and a "competitive" revenue-sharing program, but here's where things take a turn for the worse: according to Hughes, non-VZW app stores like BlackBerry App World or Windows Mobile Marketplace won't be bundled with the smartphones out of the box, meaning consumers will have to take the initiative to download those portals for themselves. An incredibly jerk move, and an extra burden on developers who'll be having to submit two approval applications if they want inclusion on Verizon's own store. Of course, that large subscriber base is the reason it can get away with it, but let's hope we hear some better justifications other than "because we can" when the full details are rolled out at the Verizon Developer Community Conference on July 28th.
BlackBerry App World launching in more countries, languages this month
RIM is expanding the reach of its on-device software catalog -- the so-called App World -- by taking it to ten new countries by the end of this month: Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium. To accommodate the expansion, the company is also adding support for "more languages" (though it isn't saying exactly how many) including French, Italian, Spanish, and German. What's more, RIM plans on adding new software categories to make finding what you're looking for just a little bit easier and will be adding support for URLs, which -- when opened from your BlackBerry's browser -- will take you straight to an app's page in App World. No word on when the new features will launch, but RIM says it'll be firmed up "in the next few weeks."
BlackBerry App World now home to 2,000 applications, RIM pretty stoked
It may have some 48,000 or so to go before it catches the runaway leader in app choice, but doubling up its catalog after launching just 3.5 months ago ain't nothing to scoff at. As RIM suffers through the traditional growing pains with its fledgling BlackBerry App World, it has managed to amass around 2,000 programs for users to love, hate or feel completely indifferent about. According to Jeff McDowell, vice president of global alliances, that number is apt to rise when it goes live in Italy, France, Germany and Spain this month. Also of note, Mr. McDowell declined to say just how many downloads had taken place, but he did note that RIM was "very happy" with the response. Unfortunately, we're not so certain that the company is eager to raise that 2,000 figure to something much higher, with ole Jeff spouting off that "[it doesn't matter] whether it's 40,000 or 2,000 [apps], you've still got a broad range of choice." We're willing to bet the public sees that a bit differently -- right, public?[Via Electronista]
TweetGenius for BlackBerry review
BlackBerry users know that stellar Twitter clients have been hard to come by, so whenever a major new release hits the streets, it's something that makes the BlackBerry-carrying Twitter addicts out there -- and there are many of them, rest assured -- sit up and take notice. The latest app is called TweetGenius, and if you've been keeping an eye on our Twitter accounts, you'd know that we've been pretty excited about this app since we first had the opportunity to check it out over a month ago. In that short period of time, it's gone through one hell of a metamorphosis, and it looks like the bar is being raised for future apps -- Twitter and non-Twitter alike -- on the BlackBerry front. Read on for a closer look at what makes this app tick -- and more importantly, to find out whether it'll be replacing your current Twitter client.
PrimeTime2Go brings full-length TV episodes to BlackBerry Bold, Curve 8900
Ah, so the rumors were true. As BlackBerry App World descends upon the masses today, a particularly unique service is launching alongside of it: QuickPlay Media's PrimeTime2Go. Unlike options from Sprint and AT&T, this alternative delivers video only over WiFi, though this arrangement does enable it to work on all carriers. The app will bring full-length television shows to certain BlackBerry smartphones, and with deals inked with NBC, CBS and MTV, we'd say the selection should be pretty good. As for details, it'll run users $7.99 per month, though it will only operate (initially, at least) on the BlackBerry Bold and Curve 8900, sold by AT&T and T-Mobile, respectively. So, is this the break that mobile TV has been waiting for? Or is this yet another option that better get used to being shunned?
BlackBerry App World now live
As expected, the BlackBerry App World has just launched for US, Canada and the UK. If your software's updated to 4.2 and you've got a trackball / touch screen and PayPal account, head on over to RIM's website to download. Tell us, is it everything you thought it would be?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
BlackBerry App World to launch April 1, says BusinessWeek
Mark your calendars, BlackBerry fans: BusinessWeek says RIM's going to launch the BlackBerry App World April 1 at CTIA. What's more, the company is apparently planning on going after Apple by courting developers with higher profit margins and the relative sophistication of the average corporate BlackBerry user, which explains that minimum $2.99 paid app price we saw a few weeks ago. An interesting move to position the new service, but we'll see if it takes hold with users -- anyone ready to blow their budget on 'berry software?[Via Boy Genius Report]
BlackBerry App World minimum paid price: $2.99
RIM's newly-named BlackBerry App World might be all set to compete with the other mobile app stores on the scene, but it's not going head-to-head on price: according to the developer docs, the first price tier above free is $2.99. That doesn't seem like much, but it's a little puzzling in light of how successful various less-expensive iPhone apps have been. Of course, RIM might just want its apps to seem more valuable to customers -- and maybe keep fart apps far from its business-oriented platform -- but we'll see how developers react when things go live. [Via CrackBerry]
