Chicago (IL) – Research in Motion (RIM) today launched its Blackberry application store called App World. The store is now accessible for all owners of the Blackberry Storm and all other Blackberrys equipped with a trackball.
The Blackberry App World is the first serious rival to Apple’s App Store, which opened almost eight months ago, on July 11, 2008. Despite the substantial delay of RIM’s App World, the smartphone maker needs the download database to counter Apple’s offering and support its products with attractive software.
RIM said that App World will support both free and fee-based applications.
To access App World, Blackberry owners need to download the storefront software from RIM’s website. Only newer Blackberrys with a touchscreen or a trackball can navigate the store. Purchases require a Paypal account.
Companies that provide their employees with a Blackberry phone can block App World access and software downloads through specific IT policy rules that can be set within the BlackBerry Enterprise Server.
