Disqus
An overlooked footnote in Telus’ announcement of the BlackBerry Torch 9800 yesterday is that they’re the first service provider in Canada to support carrier billing in BlackBerry App World (AT&T got it first in the U.S.). That means if you’ve got a BlackBerry, and you buy apps through the official portal, the charges go right to your monthly wireless bill, rather than having to muck around with credit cards or PayPal.
Telus’ announcement is timely given the recent update to BlackBerry App World, that included $0.99 and $1.99 pricing tiers and some UI improvements. With any luck, it won’t take long for other carriers in Canada, like Rogers, to also offer wireless billing for mobile apps. It’s a unique proposition that few other app stores offer, like maybe the Android Market on T-Mobile. Hopefully, the added flexibility of carrier billing on Telus will promote BlackBerry’s comparatively weak app market.
[via CB]
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.
