Research In Motion has released the newest version of its application marketplace, BlackBerry App World 3.0, with a complete redesign and new functionality. RIM hopes that making App World slicker with more sharing and easier payment options will boost downloads which in turn will lead to more developer support for the platform.
RIM changes to App World feature increased sharing of apps through Facebook, Twitter, BlackBerry Messenger, email and text messages. There are also new channel categories in App World to make discovery easier. It should also be easier to download and pay for BlackBerry apps with the introduction of a “My Account” feature tied to users’ BlackBerry ID.
RIM has also beefed up the “My World” features to make it easier to manage applications and subscription content and be notified of updates and renewals.
The BlackBerry ID is a single login for all BlackBerry products. It has been simplified and can be set up and managed from RIM devices. Users can use it to pay for and manage all apps in the App World.
RIM was overdue to revamp App World. It has never been easy to navigate, purchase or manage applications. The best way to describe it is that it was kind of “there.” RIM and its developer ecosystem have fallen way behind in total apps available in comparison to Android and iOS and the company has lost developer support as app publishers move to where the money is flowing.
BlackBerry developers are also going to have to reconcile that RIM is going to have to fork away from BlackBerry OS eventually as it bets its future on QNX, which its PlayBook tablet is based on and has smartphones reportedly coming early next year.
