BlackBerry Application Center and Storefront officially announced

Running low on laptop battery here at the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Developer Conference Day 2 Keynote, but here’s the straight goods on RIM’s answer to Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s Android Market and the iPhone App Store.

- RIM plans to launch the application storefront in March 2009; BlackBerry application developers can begin submitting their applications and content for inclusion in December 2008.
- The storefront will allow developers to set their own prices for applications; developers will retain 80 percent of the revenue generated from their applications.
- RIM is working with PayPal to provide consumers with a convenient and trusted way to pay for applications within the new application storefront, right from their BlackBerry smartphone.
- Organizations that have deployed BlackBerry® Enterprise Server or BlackBerry® Professional Software will retain control of what applications can be downloaded
- RIM is also working with its carrier partners to provide carrier-customized, on-device application centers. RIM has already worked with carriers successfully to provide this type of on-device distribution system for individual software applications, such as the popular Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones application.
- RIM is already working with carrier partners on plans to roll out the BlackBerry application center on future BlackBerry smartphones.
- For more information on the BlackBerry application storefront, interested developers should visit www.blackberry.com/storefrontinfo and sign up to receive periodic updates.

Check the full press release over here!