BlackBerry App World is an application distribution service and application by Research In Motion (RIM) for a majority of BlackBerry devices. The service provides BlackBerry users with an environment to browse, download, and update third-party applications. The service went live on April 1, 2009. Of the three major app providers, it has the largest revenue per app at $9,166.67 compared to $6,480.00 and $1,200.00 by the Apple App Store and Android Market, respectively. ^[2]

History[link]

On October 21, 2008, RIM announced at the BlackBerry Developer Conference that the company would open an application store for their devices.^[3] It was also announced that the store was scheduled to be open in March 2009, and would work in conjunction with PayPal's services. On January 19, 2009, RIM began accepting submissions of applications from developers.^[4]

On March 4, 2009, RIM officially named the store "BlackBerry App World"^[5] (previously called the BlackBerry Application Storefront). It was also confirmed that the service would not initially be available for desktops, and only a web-based catalog would be accessible from non-BlackBerry devices.

On April 1, 2009, at CTIA's trade show, RIM announced that App World had gone live.^[6]

At the BlackBerry sponsored Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES), it was announced that an average of 1 million apps were being downloaded each day.^[7]

On August 19, 2010, BlackBerry App World 2.0 was released. This new version introduced BlackBerry ID - a single sign, account system that can be used on both the BlackBerry client and the BlackBerry App World desktop storefront. In addition to BlackBerry ID, BlackBerry App World 2.0 also introduced direct credit card billing and carrier billing for AT&T Wireless subscribers.

On December 3, 2010, Research in Motion announced that daily downloads were 2 million apps per day.^[8]

On February 2, 2011, BlackBerry App World 2.1 was released. This version introduced in-app purchases of digital goods, allowing for add-ons to be purchased within applications.^[9]

Milestones[link]

Pricing and availability[link]

RIM announced that the store would initially be available in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.^[12]

As of September 9, 2010 - BlackBerry App World is available in 113 countries and accepts payment in all 113 using a combination of PayPal, credit card, and carrier billing.

List of countries where BlackBerry App World is available.

Applications are both free and paid from $0.99 to $999.99 USD in the U.S. The registration and app submission fees charged to developers are currently $0. ^[13]

The service is available in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese.

This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (May 2011)

The store is available for the following BlackBerry devices that are updated to BlackBerry OS version 4.5.0 or higher:^[12]

• BlackBerry Torch 9800 - Preloaded
• BlackBerry Style 9670 - Preloaded
• BlackBerry Bold 9900/9000/9700/9780/9650
• BlackBerry Storm and BlackBerry Storm2 9500/9520/9530/9550
• BlackBerry Tour 9630
• BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100/9105
• BlackBerry Pearl 8100/8110/8120/8130
• BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220/8230
• BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300/9330
• BlackBerry Curve 8900
• BlackBerry Curve 8520/8530
• BlackBerry Curve 8300 8300/8310/8320/8330
• BlackBerry 8800
• BlackBerry PlayBook

Storage[link]

Apps can be archived on a MicroSD or on eMMC storage of certain BlackBerry smartphone models.^[14]

The archive function has been removed as of App World 3.0^{[citation needed]}.

See also[link]

• List of digital distribution platforms for mobile devices

References[link]

External links[link]

• App World official North American site
• App World official European site
• BlackBerry official site
• Jamie Murai (Feb 25, 2011), "You Win, RIM": An aspiring RIM developer's experience with RIM's application development environment's registration procedure Accessdate=2011-02-26 But see interview with a director, Blackberry Developer Relations, rationale and aspirations Accessdate=2011-02-26