RIM has announced the new BlackBerry Beta Zone, which is a dedicated area for testers to try out bleeding edge apps from RIM, like the official Twitter client that’s still under closed beta. The BlackBerry App World will still have its Test Center section for third parties to throw their early creations to the masses, but the Beta Zone will be specifically for new and early-stage stuff RIM proper is working on. By filling out a full profile, the Beta Zone can inform you of particular programs that you’re eligible to try out. The first things to be offered there is OS 5.0 for the BlackBerry Curve 8520 and 8530, BlackBerry Messenger 5.0.1, and BES 5.0.2. I could see the Beta Zone being a prime location to test the new OSes that get leaked all the time anyway – RIM might as well harness that massive amount of tinkerer interest and put it to good use.
To sign up, head on over to blackberry.com/beta.
[via Inside BlackBerry]