BlackBerry Cell Phone's New App World Sets High Standards and Prices

By Jimmy P. Collins

Recently, Research In Motion (RIM) announced its application store for BlackBerry devices in similar fashion to Apple's popular App Store for iPhones. Owners of BlackBerry cell phones will find an easier way to buy and install new applications with the new service, previously known as App Center.

The all new BlackBerry App World will work with RIM cell phones running the company's operating system (version 4.2 or higher) that have a trackball or a SurePress touchscreen (as in the BlackBerry Storm cell phone). The new service is expected to debut sometime this spring and those wanting to know when the App World will become available can register now on RIM's website. Blackberry App World will go live first in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom. In addition, App World users will also be required to have a PayPal account to buy applications from the store. Here is where RIM starts getting risky.

RIM's starting point for purchases in the new App World is $2.99. While some applications will remain free, unlike Apple and their app store for the iPhone, there will be no $.99 or $1.99 price points. The motive of this move is not certain as the lower priced apps seem to be the biggest sellers when it comes to Apple and the iPhone. Couple that with the worst recession this country has seen in quite some time and the move may prove to be one of great cost for RIM.

After the $2.99 applications for your Blackberry cell phone, prices will go up by a dollar from $2.99 to $19.99. After that, they'll increase in increments of $10, from $19.99 to $99.99; with the maximum price for an app from the BlackBerry App World is $999.99 (that has to be some app).

BlackBerry App World will probably be preinstalled in the upcoming RIM devices, but for now will be downloadable. While the future of downloadable apps for BlackBerry cell phones looks bright, it also looks quite costly. It seems these days that every cell phone manufacturer is doing all they can to knock the iPhone down a notch. The actions of RIM seem that they may be counterproductive, but then again, only time will tell.