While Apple’s App Store for its iPhone and, more recently, iPad devices is the app platform to watch by most metrics, rival stores from Google (Android), RIM (BlackBerry) and others are jockeying for advantages with which to attack the top dog. The latest news come from RIM, which is planning to unveil a new version of its BlackBerry App World store later this summer with a key new feature: carrier billing.
CIO.com has details on that aspect of the launch:
App World carrier billing means that BlackBerry users will be able to circumvent PayPal–or any other online payment service–and purchase applications via their wireless carrier, so any apps they buy are billed to them directly via their monthly wireless service bills. RIM won’t say which wireless carriers will support the option when App World launches in the coming weeks, but [the company] notes that North America will be first to get carrier billing.
PayPal will still be available, and RIM has also added a credit card option, so interested App World 2.0 buyers will have the option of paying for their apps immediately via credit card, as well. These new payment options have the potential to drastically boost app sales via App World because RIM is in effect removing some major barriers that dissuaded many BlackBerry users from picking up paid apps in the past.
Connected Planet’s take,
Susana Schwartz:
There’s been no official press release yet, but I assume this is a move to try and make BlackBerry seem somewhat “cool” in light of the fact it lags iPhone and Droid in terms of applications. Of course to have compelling applications you have to be able to pay developers well or at least attract lots of eyeballs to what they develop — neither of which RIM was doing very well.
However, with this latest gossip it seems RIM is setting a $2.99 price minimum for apps — an amount it hears developers note as the lowest tier for making all the talent and work worthwhile. While this might please app developers, it will be interesting to see if this further disenchants users — many of whom see free and 99-cent apps elsewhere. There will still be free apps, but developers will have to pay to submit them. That means the “fun-but-not-so-great” apps in the 99 cent and $1.99 tier may have to move elsewhere. Perhaps RIM is trying to say its new devices are too sophisticated for beer apps or apps that burp or do other silly things that are attractive to certain users.
That’s our take on this. Let us know what you think in the comments section below: