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After taking two months to ready their back-end and a short beta, RIM has rolled out BlackBerry App World 2.1, complete with in-app purchase support. This is good news for both developers and end-users, as they’ll be able to buy or sell a whole new category of software, and offer a feature comparable to the iPhone App Store. With the new feature, you’ll be able to get new kinds of content for your existing apps, like books for an e-book reader, levels for a game, or any number of unlockable features.
This feature is arriving just in time for the launch of the BlackBerry PlayBook, which will need all of the app support it can get to compete with the slew of Android tablets coming down the pipe. RIM first started talking about the feature back in November of 2009, so it’s certainly taken awhile to get it out the door. Still, I trust that they’ll be a little more open than Apple is about the different kinds of ways developers can sell their in-app content. The last big update to App World introduced QR barcode recognition, carrier billing, and a new BlackBerry ID system which carries over to a few other services.
Developers interested in getting started with the BlackBerry Payment Service for in-app purchases, you can find more info at RIM’s landing page here. As for end-users, the on-device App World should be updating at some point today.
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.
