BlackBerry App World has launched with 1,000 applications and is available as a free download to models with a trackball or touch-screen. App World will share revenue with the carriers and allow them set up their own stores within the store.
The investment in apps is part of Research in Motion aiming to reposition the BlackBerry as a smartphone, rather than an email device aimed predominantly at business users.
Research In Motion co-chief executive Jim Balsillie said that while users currently need a PayPal account to access the service, the company is hoping to strike deals with wireless carriers so purchases can be charged to phone bills.
The announcement comes as independent app store GetJar releases research showing mobile users are increasingly using mobile social networking apps instead of making voice calls. The findings reveal that mobile users now take as much news from their mobile as they do from newspapers and TV, and surf the web more on their mobile than they do via their PC.
More than 2,000 European GetJar app store consumers said they use apps to fill ‘dead time' during the day, with 43 per cent accessing them on public transport and 17 per cent at night before going to sleep.
Mobile social networking is also becoming an increasingly important way for mobile users to keep in touch, with 30 per cent stating that they now use their mobile more for social networking via apps than they do for voice calls.
This trend is reflected in the popularity of email and messaging apps, which are the first choice for 25 per cent of app users, ahead of games (24 per cent) and music (15 per cent).
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