Disqus
Last night, blackberry.com/appworld went live, including notification page so you can get e-mailed when their new on-device software distribution channel goes live, as well as a handy FAQ answering a lot of questions. The one that’s garnering the most attention is their pricing structure, above, which, after free, starts at $2.99. Yep, no dollar-bin apps, or even $1.99 apps. On top of that, developers will have to fork out $200 as a submission fee to get ten apps in. It looks like the BlackBerry App World will be something of a walled garden, versus Android’s open source utopia, and the iPhone App Store’s lively playground of farts and light sabers.
This kind of approach is double-edged; on the one hand, you’re raising the bar for developers to make something good enough that they can A) make back their entry fee, and B) sell for at least $2.99. On the other, BlackBerry developers already have a rough enough time as is, and they really don’t need any more reason to go sniffing around alternatives. Additionally, a smaller selection could mean slow momentum for the App World, regardless of the calibre of those apps.
As a point of reference, eight out of the current top ten apps selling in the iPhone App Store are priced $1.99 or less. The Android Market’s price cap is $200, while the App World will match Apple’s $999.99 cieling. What do you guys think? Is RIM shooting itself in the foot without a $0.99 tier, or is it raising the bar for a market that’s quickly getting flooded with trash?
About The Author
Simon Sage
Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.
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Will Park
