Don’t count the Research in Motion team out of the smartphone market yet. Their new plan is to bulk up the offerings available to the 65 million Blackberry users by sweetening the pot for app developers.
RIM has 56% of the US smartphone market, but their standings in the number of apps available in the RIM app store, the Blackberry App World, is pitiful compared to the offerings of iPhone or Google Android.
The current score:
Apple App Store – 100,000+ apps
Android Market – 12,000+ apps
RIM Blackberry App World – 2,000+ apps
Clearly RIM has to make up some ground if they want to stay in the race.
Fortunately, they’ve outlined their strategy to woo over some of the app creators to help develop more, and better, apps. RIM hopes to entice these developers to change over to the Blackberry platform by providing more native API’s and better opportunities for the developers to make money.
“We heard you,” Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research In Motion, told developers “We know you want much more native APIs, access to app data and deep rich integration.”
The plan includes:
Better Monetization: RIM will allow developers to sell digital content, provide upgrades or sell subscriptions in-app. Additionally, RIM will allow the users to make payments through online service PayPal, through RIM’s own payment service, and eventually directly through the wireless provider.
Adobe flash support: Providing developers with the ability to write flash apps fills a gap that the iPhone hasn’t been able to do yet. Developers that have been patiently waiting for Apple to be able to support flash might choose to use their skills within the Blackberry camp, at least until Apple figures flash out.
Better Browser: The Blackberry Browser 5.0 promises to be a more robust and useful browser for the user as well as the developer. Look for it early next year.
Better mobile gaming: The promise of OpenGL ES on the Blackberry will enable Java developers to create 3D games for the Blackberry. Maybe Duke Nukem Forever could finally see the light of day?
Will RIM be able to woo developers over to the Blackberry platform to create better apps? Probably.
Will this make a difference for RIM? Only time will tell.
What apps need to be written to keep you as a loyal Blackberry user?
Written by: Jason Finnerty. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
RIM needs to have a SIP client made available to the blackberry ASAP – this is way overdue