The Inquisitr » Blackberry App World

Blackberry App World Records 3 Billion Downloads As RIM Suffers

James Johnson — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 19:28:30 +0000

Blackberry maker Research in Motion may be suffering through multi-million dollar losses but the company had some good news to deliver on Saturday as Blackberry App World has now delivered more than 3 billion downloads.

The 3 billion milestone was reported on the Inside Blackberry developer blog. The website notes that the Blackberry App World managed to reach the 3 billion downloads mark in less than one-third of the time needed to cross the one billion mark.

To put the company’s app downloads into perspective it took Blackberry 786 days to hit one billion downloads, 210 days to reach the two billion downloads mark and just 176 days to pass the three billion app downloads milestone.

The company’s assessment does not including third-party Blackberry app store downloads, apps that were pushed internally by companies or apps downloaded directly from the web.

Blackberry currently offers more than 90,000 apps, however many of those apps were simply ported from the Google Android platform as developers have been slow while adapting to the company’s own OS due to a lack of device sales.

In comparing the app platform Google Android has scored more than 10 billion downloads while Apple developers have helped push more than 25 billion app downloads. Blackberry has argued for months that its app eco-system is not only healthy but more profitable for developers because RIM doesn’t take the same 30% cut utilized by Apple and Google.

Do you think the Blackberry App World ecosystem is healthy or simply being sustained by legacy users who are quickly jumping ship for other mobile OS operators?

Blackberry App World Records 3 Billion Downloads As RIM Suffers is a post from: The Inquisitr

RIM Placing Android Apps On BlackBerry App World Without Developer Permission

James Johnson — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:11:33 +0000

When the Dolphin HD browser developed for the Google Android Market appeared on the BlackBerry App World portal most users probably assumed that the developer had agreed to the submission, however it turns out that 3rd party app development team MoboTap had no idea their application had been placed. That’s because a third party application website decided to submit the application on the company’s behalf, without its permission.

Submitted by multi-platform app store Handster the reason for the submission has not been made clear however it’s a free program that doesn’t earn direct revenue from each download.

Speaking to Engadget a MoboTap spokesperson noted:

“We do not condone Handster submitting our Dolphin Browser app to BlackBerry’s App World for us and are currently working to take it down and assure Handster will not submit our app for us again.”

Upon quick examination of Handster submitted applications it turns out that the company has submitted thousands of apps to the BlackBerry App world and some of those submissions are not free to download mobile apps.

Perhaps the worst part is the fact that “Handster, Inc.” is named as the apps “Publisher” and while that may be different then “Developer” we can see such action leading to lawsuits from developers who may not have planned to release their apps to the Blackberry App World or who may be working on more stable versions of those programs for the platform.

In the meantime it’s likely some developers are receiving support requests from BlackBerry users which could quickly turn into an ugly situation for developers who are not yet or don’t plan to support BlackBerry users.

Do you think Handster erred in submitting Android Apps to the BlackBerry App World without developer permission?

RIM Placing Android Apps On BlackBerry App World Without Developer Permission is a post from: The Inquisitr

Blackberry App World Version 3.0 Launching On Monday

James Johnson — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 21:19:29 +0000

Research in Motion, makers of the Blackberry line of devices will unveil Blackberry App World Version 3.0 on Monday, bringing with it some much needed feature improvements.

The App World’s new interface includes a better layout to make finding apps, games and themes much faster, while the company has also added “My World” a storage folder that places all of a users downloads on the home screen, while allowing them to be wirelessly reinstalled should they accidentally be deleted or if a user buys a new device.

BB Music was also rumored for the version 3.0 however Reuters has reported that RIM is waiting until at least early September to announce that feature officially.

Are you excited to have a new Blackberry App World for your device? At this point RIM needs to be doing everything they can to compete with Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android mobile operating systems.

Blackberry App World Version 3.0 Launching On Monday is a post from: The Inquisitr

RIM Almost Seems Embarrassed To Announce 10,000th App

James Johnson — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 01:50:26 +0000

Research In Motion, the company behind the Blackberry line of devices has finally surpassed 10,000 available apps. The funny part? They barely made an announcement about the accomplishment.

The Blackberry App World launched a year and a half ago, 6 months after Apple launched the iPhone App Store. To put the numbers into perspective, Apple has over 250,000 apps currently available, while the Android Market reached that mark by fall 2009, approximately one year after launching.

It should be noted that various factors have led to slower app growth development among Blackberry developers. For one, the program is a business device which has just recently gained consumer appeal with touchscreen based Smartphones and other new features being added to the mix. Another reason for the slow app community growth also stems from the companies BlackBerry OS being notoriously hard to develop for which has scared away even some of the most seasoned, top developers. Blackberry policy protocols have also scared away developers.

RIM may however soon see a pick up in App developments as they have promised that their new Java SDK for Blackberry 6 will make it more simply to develop programs for the device, although the last of a 3D graphics card may still scare away most game developers.

Here are some other factors that have hindered App development for Blackberry devices according to Electronista:

RIM has also made unusual choices that have discouraged app sales. It didn’t begin preloading App World on any phone until the Torch and left many customers unaware that the store even existed; it was previously an optional download. Until 2.0, the portal also lacked accounts to port paid apps to a new phone or any way to pay for an app beyond PayPal. A decision to require prices of $3 or higher for paid apps also guaranteed that many cross-platform titles would cost the most on a BlackBerry or wouldn’t be ported at all.

Would you be willing to buy more apps for your Blackberry device if they were made available at low enough prices? Let us know your thoughts about the Blackberry App fiasco.

RIM Almost Seems Embarrassed To Announce 10,000th App is a post from: The Inquisitr

Official Ebay App Arrives At Blackberry App World With Paypal Support

James Johnson — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:19:06 +0000

If you’ve been using just about any mobile platform other than a Blackberry you’ve had the option of an official eBay mobile application. Now the same functionality found for iPhone and Nokia (Symbian) devices is available for eBay loving Blackberry users.

The program includes the ability to search listings, log into your “My eBay” account to check out your own sales, wins, bids and other information and even purchase items directly from your Paypal Account.

The program is 100% free and can be found by searching the Blackberry App World using the word “Ebay.”

If you’re addicted to bidding on or selling items and you use a Blackberry I would highly recommend taking a closer look at this program. [SlipperyBrick]

Official Ebay App Arrives At Blackberry App World With Paypal Support is a post from: The Inquisitr