New App World for BlackBerry Cell Phones Sets the Bar and
the Prices High

Research In Motion (RIM) Taking a Big Chance as Recession Looms

In a similar move to Apple's popular App Store for iPhones, Research In Motion (RIM) recently announced its application store for BlackBerry devices. The service, previously known as App Center and now know as App World, will offer BlackBerry cell phone owners an easier way to buy and install new applications on their cell phones.

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).Those wanting to know when the App World will become available (expected sometime this spring) can register now on RIM's Web site. Blackberry App World will first be made available in the U.S., Canada, and U.K and 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.

While RIM will still offer some free applications for download to your Blackberry cell phone, the next pricing point is $2.99. Unlike Apple and their app store for the iPhone, there will be no $.99 or $1.99 price points. The move is unclear as the lower priced apps seem to be the biggest sellers when it comes to Apple and the iPhone. Add to that the fact that the world is seeing a recession the like of never before and the move could prove costly 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.

BlackBerry App World will be a downloadable application at launch and future RIM cell phones may come with it preinstalled. While the future of downloadable apps for BlackBerry cell phones looks bright, it also looks expensive. In a world where every cell phone company is trying to de-thrown Apple and its flagship cell phone the iPhone, the actions of RIM are baffling to say the least. But only time will tell if the actions taken by RIM will benefit the BlackBerry faithful or end up hurting it with the all new App World.