BlackBerry App World too late to make RIM No. 1
BlackBerry App World launch came too late for Research in Motion to be the mobile app winner.
It’s no joke, on April 1 RIM debuted BlackBerry App World for the U.S., U.K. and Canada so users can buy apps via mobile over WiFi and cellular networks.
The app store brings the convenience of buying apps via mobile to customers, means mobile developers can make more money by adjusting one app to work across platforms (Windows Mobile, iPhone, Android, BlackBerry), and will bring more marketing and advertising opportunities to companies.
The biggest BlackBerry advantage with this app store launch is that it follows Apple and Android. The company has smartly avoided obstacles and added features so it can better meet user’s needs. Those features include: BlackBerry launched with a payment system via PayPal (Android took months to offer paid apps because it had no way to charge users), apps that have been refined for iPhone and Android can now be in RIMs store (Shazam, New York Times, Pandora, etc.), changing weekly the featured page in the app store (Apple changes its new and what’s hot sections every Tuesday to keep users buying), and finally My World — a folder on the user’s BlackBerry that shows a user’s downloads and allows for easy re-installing and for transferring to a new BlackBerry model.
BUT, there are many things holding the App World back that Apple did not have to contend with when it launched the iPhone App Store in July 2009.
- When the Apple app store launched all of its iPhone and iPod Touch users were required to have iTunes accounts, making it very easy for Apple to set-up the payment system for the app store. Not so much for Android (which took a few months to add this feature) or BlackBerry. BlackBerry made the right decision by launching with a payment system, using PayPal accounts. A simple approach, but a set-back because not all of BlackBerry’s customers would already have had a PayPal account.
- iPhone came first to the apps game. Well, actually that was Palm followed by Windows Mobile. But, what’s important is that Apple made apps cool. Apple has TV ads dedicated to just app functionality, my friends at parties show off their latest apps and news media across the country write about the latest apps frequently. Android came second to the new app game and BlackBerry’s third. It will be tough for RIM now to get the full attention of mobile developers already developing for Apple and Android.
- Not all BlackBerrys can run the app store.The store works for BlackBerry smartphones with a trackball or touch-screen running BlackBerry device software 4.2 or higher. Apple and Android have but one smartphone each. That makes it easier for designing the apps (touch versus non-touch phones, i.e.), launching the app store and making imporvements to the app store in the future. Also, while Apple and Android can launch an update to the operating system that benefits all apps and app developers, BlackBerry would have to upgrade all of the operating systems for app store-accessing phones.
- BlackBerry works with multiple wireless companies recently launching the Bold on AT&T, the Flip on T-Mobile and the Storm on Verizon. While users with Android app questions can just go to T-Mobile and iPhone customers needing help can go to Apple or AT&T, BlackBerry customers will be going to almost all cellular stores looking for help — which makes it very difficult to offer reliable customer service.
- Much of RIM’s strategy has been the workplace. In fact, BlackBerry was excited that the iPhone is a difficult sell to companies standared in BlackBerrys and Microsoft Outlook. Now, that advantage now poses a threat to the BlackBerry app store. If workers are given BlackBerrys by their bosses, they will likely be on the companie’s phone plan and they may be limited on bandwidth which will be used every time they download an app. BlackBerry, smartly, by using PayPal avoids workers’ app charges going to the companies.
Related posts from around the web: RIMs Latest Apple Apps Won’t Catch on Well: Here’s Why, GoMo Buzzwatch: Blackberry launches App World mobile application store, Rumor Redux: Storm 2 has Wi-Fi, better text input, Specs of three upcoming BlackBerrys leak out, Review: BlackBerry App World [Update 2]
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