BlackBerry World (previously known as BlackBerry App World) is an
application distribution service, aka an '
app store
An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the co ...
', and application by
BlackBerry Limited
BlackBerry Limited is a Canadian software company specializing in cybersecurity. Founded in 1984, it was originally known as Research In Motion (RIM). As RIM, it developed the BlackBerry brand of interactive pagers, smartphones, and tablets ...
; for
BlackBerry 10
BlackBerry 10 is a discontinued proprietary mobile operating system for the BlackBerry line of smartphones, both developed by BlackBerry Limited (formerly Research In Motion). BlackBerry 10 is based on QNX, a Unix-like operating system that was o ...
devices, the
BlackBerry PlayBook
The BlackBerry PlayBook is a mini tablet computer developed by BlackBerry and made by Quanta Computer, an original design manufacturer (ODM). , and a majority of
BlackBerry OS
BlackBerry OS is a discontinued proprietary mobile operating system developed by Canadian company BlackBerry Limited for its BlackBerry line of smartphone handheld devices. The operating system provides multitasking and supports specialized i ...
devices. The service provides BlackBerry
users
Ancient Egyptian roles
* User (ancient Egyptian official), an ancient Egyptian nomarch (governor) of the Eighth Dynasty
* Useramen, an ancient Egyptian vizier also called "User"
Other uses
* User (computing), a person (or software) using an ...
with an environment to browse, download, and update
mobile app
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
s, including third-party applications. The service went live on . Of the three major app stores of different
mobile operating system
A mobile operating system is an operating system for mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typical laptops are "mobile", the operating systems used on ...
s, it had the largest revenue per app at $9,166.67, compared to $6,480.00 by the
Apple App Store
The App Store is an app store platform, developed and maintained by Apple Inc., for mobile apps on its iOS and iPadOS operating systems. The store allows users to browse and download approved apps developed within Apple's iOS Software Deve ...
and $1,200.00 by
Google Play
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...
. On 21 January 2013, BlackBerry announced that it rebranded the ''BlackBerry App World'' to simpler ''BlackBerry World'', as part of the release of the
BlackBerry 10
BlackBerry 10 is a discontinued proprietary mobile operating system for the BlackBerry line of smartphones, both developed by BlackBerry Limited (formerly Research In Motion). BlackBerry 10 is based on QNX, a Unix-like operating system that was o ...
operating system.
BlackBerry devices since 2015 (with the release of
BlackBerry Priv
The BlackBerry Priv is a slider smartphone developed by BlackBerry Limited. Following a series of leaks, it was officially announced by BlackBerry CEO John Chen on September 25, 2015, with pre-orders opening on October 23, 2015, for a release on ...
) no longer use the BlackBerry 10
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...
, but
Android operating system
Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of deve ...
instead, which uses the Google Play app store.
History
In 2003, Research In Motion (RIM) (now known as
BlackBerry Limited
BlackBerry Limited is a Canadian software company specializing in cybersecurity. Founded in 1984, it was originally known as Research In Motion (RIM). As RIM, it developed the BlackBerry brand of interactive pagers, smartphones, and tablets ...
) launched the ''Mobile Data Service'' to enable customers to access
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
-based third-party enterprise applications using the secure real-time
push
Push may refer to:
Music
* Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push
Albums
* ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988
* ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992
* ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010
Songs
* "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...
-based BlackBerry infrastructure.
Later on 21 October 2008, RIM announced at the BlackBerry Developer Conference that the company would open an application store for their devices.
It was also announced that the store was scheduled to be open in March 2009, and would work in conjunction with
PayPal
PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper ...
's services. On 19 January 2009, RIM began accepting submissions of applications from developers.
On 4 March 2009, RIM officially named the store 'BlackBerry App World' (previously called the BlackBerry Application Storefront). It was also confirmed that the service would not initially be available for desktops, and only a web-based catalogue would be accessible from non-BlackBerry devices.
On 1 April 2009, at the
Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association
CTIA is a trade association representing the wireless communications industry in the United States. The association was established in 1984 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit membership organization, and repre ...
(CTIA) trade show, RIM announced that App World had gone live.
At the BlackBerry-sponsored Wireless Symposium, it was announced that an average of one million apps were being downloaded each day.
On 19 August 2010, BlackBerry App World 2.0 was released. This new version introduced BlackBerry ID; a single sign, account system that can be used on both the BlackBerry client, and the BlackBerry App World desktop storefront. In addition to BlackBerry ID, BlackBerry App World 2.0 also introduced direct credit card billing and carrier billing for
AT&T Wireless
AT&T Mobility LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. and provides wireless services in the United States. AT&T Mobility is the thi ...
subscribers.
On 3 December 2010, Research in Motion announced that daily downloads were two million apps per day.
On 2 February 2011, BlackBerry App World 2.1 was released. This version introduced in-app purchases of digital goods, allowing for add-ons to be purchased within applications.
On 21 January 2013, BlackBerry rebranded the 'BlackBerry App World' to 'BlackBerry World'.
On 18 June 2014, BlackBerry announced an official relationship with
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
, which includes access to
Amazon Appstore
Amazon Appstore is an app store for Android-compatible platforms operated by Amazon.com Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Amazon.
The store is primarily used as the storefront for Amazon's Android-based Fire OS. including Amazon Fire tablets, a ...
in BlackBerry 10.3.
On 14 December 2017, BlackBerry announced that BlackBerry World would close at the end of 2019, however the store was not closed, and continues to function as of August 2020. On 1 April 2018, BlackBerry removed payment features from BlackBerry World.
Milestones
At the beginning of 2011, 16,000 apps were available on BlackBerry App World. A year later, the app store passed 60,000 apps (January 2012), and a month later 70,000 apps (February 2012). At BlackBerry Jam in September 2012, RIM announced that App World had more than 105,000 apps.
In May 2013, at the Blackberry Live Conference, BlackBerry announced that over 120,000 apps for BlackBerry 10 were available to download from BlackBerry World.
Application verification is done for BlackBerry World apps about content and quality before is agreed to launch. About 85 percent of the verification is done in
Denpasar
Denpasar (; Balinese script, Balinese: ᬤᬾᬦ᭄ᬧᬲᬃ) is the capital of Bali and the main gateway to the island. The city is also a hub for other cities in the Lesser Sunda Islands.
With the rapid growth of the tourism industry in Bali ...
,
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
.
Pricing and availability
Research In Motion (RIM) announced that the store would initially be available in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
As of March 2013, BlackBerry World was available in 170 markets, and supports 23 currencies and 33 languages. Over 6 million applications are downloaded daily, with an aggregate of over 4 billion downloads to-date, and accepts payment in all markets, using a combination of
PayPal
PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper ...
, credit card, and carrier billing.
As of August 2020, BlackBerry World is available in 171 countries and territories.
Applications were both free and paid; from $0.99, to $599.99 USD in the U.S. After July 2018, some paid apps were deprecated. Maximum fee was $5. Registration and app submission are now closed.
The service is available in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
, and
Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese (' ), also Portuguese of Brazil (', ) or South American Portuguese (') is the set of varieties of the Portuguese language native to Brazil and the most influential form of Portuguese worldwide. It is spoken by almost all of ...
, among other languages.
The store is available for the following BlackBerry devices that are updated to
BlackBerry OS
BlackBerry OS is a discontinued proprietary mobile operating system developed by Canadian company BlackBerry Limited for its BlackBerry line of smartphone handheld devices. The operating system provides multitasking and supports specialized i ...
version 4.5.0 or higher:
[
*]BlackBerry Leap
The BlackBerry Leap is a discontinued smartphone developed by BlackBerry Limited. Announced on March 3, 2015, at the Mobile World Congress with initial availability in April 2015, the Leap is a follow-on to the affordable Z3 model with a number ...
*BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9983
*BlackBerry Classic
The BlackBerry Classic, originally known as the BlackBerry Q20, is a touchscreen-based smartphone with a physical QWERTY, AZERTY or QWERTZ keyboard developed by BlackBerry, previously known as RIM (Research In Motion). The BlackBerry Classic was ...
*BlackBerry Passport
BlackBerry Passport is a smartphone developed by BlackBerry Limited. Officially released on September 24, 2014, the Passport is inspired by its namesake and incorporates features designed to make the device attractive to enterprise users, such as ...
*BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9982
The BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9982 is a high-end smartphone by BlackBerry and Porsche Design. Released in December 2013, it is based upon the BlackBerry Z10, having exactly the same internal hardware specifications except for an increase of inte ...
*BlackBerry Q5
The BlackBerry Q5 is the third BlackBerry 10 smartphone, unveiled at the BlackBerry Live 2013 Keynote on May 14, 2013. BlackBerry 10 is gesture based.
The Q5 is targeted largely at emerging markets because of its lower end specifications. It is ...
*BlackBerry Q10
The BlackBerry Q10 is a touchscreen-based QWERTY smartphone developed by BlackBerry, previously known as RIM (Research In Motion). The BlackBerry Q10 is the second of two BlackBerry smartphones unveiled at the BlackBerry 10 event on January 30, 2 ...
*BlackBerry Z3
The BlackBerry Z3 is a touchscreen smartphone developed by BlackBerry. Announced in February 2014, it is the first BlackBerry phone produced in partnership with Foxconn. Adopting a similar appearance and dimensions as BlackBerry Z30, Z3 is design ...
*BlackBerry Z10
The BlackBerry Z10 is a high-end LTE touchscreen-based smartphone developed by BlackBerry, previously known as RIM.
The BlackBerry Z10 is the first of two new BlackBerry phones presented at the BlackBerry 10 event on January 30, 2013. The BlackB ...
*BlackBerry Z30
The BlackBerry Z30 is a high-end 4G touchscreen smartphone developed by BlackBerry. Announced on September 18, 2013, it succeeds the Z10 as the second totally touchscreen device to run the BlackBerry 10 operating system (and the first with versi ...
*BlackBerry Bold The BlackBerry Bold is a line of smartphones developed by BlackBerry, Ltd. The family was launched in 2008 with the 9000 Model. In 2009 the form factor was shrunk with the 9700 and the Tour 9630. In 2010 BlackBerry released the 9650 and 9780 refr ...
9900/9000/9700/9780/9650/9790
*BlackBerry 9720
*BlackBerry PlayBook
The BlackBerry PlayBook is a mini tablet computer developed by BlackBerry and made by Quanta Computer, an original design manufacturer (ODM).
*BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981
The BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 was a smartphone by Research In Motion and Porsche Design. Released in December 2011, it was a variant of the latest model of the Bold 9900, sharing all of its internal hardware components. They both shared th ...
9981
*BlackBerry Torch
BlackBerry Torch is a series of smartphones manufactured by BlackBerry Ltd. The lineup consists of the following:
* BlackBerry Torch 9800, the first phone in the series, powered by BlackBerry OS 6.
* BlackBerry Torch 9810, which physically mimics ...
9800/9810 - Preloaded
*BlackBerry Style
The BlackBerry Style 9670 is a mobile phone developed by Research In Motion. The Style is BlackBerry's first flip phone with a full QWERTY keyboard. It was BlackBerry's second phone to ship with the BlackBerry 6.0 operating system. The Style earn ...
9670 - Preloaded
*BlackBerry Storm
The BlackBerry Storm is a touchscreen smartphone developed by Research In Motion. A part of the BlackBerry 9500 series of phones, it was RIM's first touchscreen device, and its first without a physical keyboard. It featured a touchscreen that re ...
and BlackBerry Storm
The BlackBerry Storm is a touchscreen smartphone developed by Research In Motion. A part of the BlackBerry 9500 series of phones, it was RIM's first touchscreen device, and its first without a physical keyboard. It featured a touchscreen that re ...
2 9500/9520/9530/9550
*BlackBerry Tour
The BlackBerry Tour is a consumer smartphone developed by Research In Motion and is part of the 9600 device series. This high-end messaging phone combines the multimedia features of the Curve with the global roaming of the 8830 (with the addition ...
9630
* BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100/9105
* BlackBerry Pearl 8100/8110/8120/8130
* BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220/8230
*BlackBerry Curve
BlackBerry Curve is a brand of professional smartphones that were manufactured by BlackBerry Ltd from 2007 until 2013.
Early series
Curve 8300 Series
The BlackBerry Curve brand was introduced on May 3, 2007 with OS version 4.5 with the Curve 8 ...
3G 9300/9330
*BlackBerry Curve 8900
BlackBerry Curve is a brand of professional smartphones that were manufactured by BlackBerry Ltd from 2007 until 2013.
Early series
Curve 8300 Series
The BlackBerry Curve brand was introduced on May 3, 2007 with OS version 4.5 with the Curve 8 ...
*BlackBerry Curve 8520
The BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a smartphone from the BlackBerry Curve series manufactured in Canada. It is also known as the BlackBerry Gemini.
Description
The BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a consumer smartphone and has standard features including mobi ...
/8530/9320
*BlackBerry Curve 8300
BlackBerry Curve is a brand of professional smartphones that were manufactured by BlackBerry Ltd from 2007 until 2013.
Early series
Curve 8300 Series
The BlackBerry Curve brand was introduced on May 3, 2007 with OS version 4.5 with the Curve 8 ...
8300/8310/8320/8330
*BlackBerry 8800
*BlackBerry PlayBook
Storage
Users were initially allowed to archive their apps on a MicroSD
Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices.
The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...
, or on eMMC
The MultiMediaCard, officially abbreviated as MMC, is a memory card standard used for solid-state storage. Unveiled in 1997 by SanDisk and Siemens, MMC is based on a surface-contact low pin-count serial interface using a single memory stack subs ...
storage of certain BlackBerry smartphone models. The archive to external memory card function was later removed with the release of App World 3.0.
Developer
In 2010, Research In Motion (RIM) announced several new tools to make it easier for BlackBerry applications developers to build, simulate, deploy, and monetise feature-rich applications on the BlackBerry platform; including the BlackBerry Enterprise Application Development Platform, the next generation BlackBerry Web Application Platform, BlackBerry WebWorks
The BlackBerry PlayBook is a mini tablet computer developed by BlackBerry and made by Quanta Computer, an original design manufacturer (ODM).[Lua
Lua or LUA may refer to:
Science and technology
* Lua (programming language)
* Latvia University of Agriculture
* Last universal ancestor, in evolution
Ethnicity and language
* Lua people, of Laos
* Lawa people, of Thailand sometimes referred t ...]( ...<br></span></div> Platform for the BlackBerry PlayBook™ Tablet and BlackBerry smartphones, and BlackBerry Payment Service, BlackBerry Push Service, BlackBerry Advertising Service, Location Service, Maps Services, Analytics Service, Scoreloop, BBM Social Platform Software Developer Kits, ''et al''.
BlackBerry embraced open standards, and included a variety of open source libraries out of the box including: <div class=)
, OpenAL
OpenAL (Open Audio Library) is a cross-platform audio application programming interface (API). It is designed for efficient rendering of multichannel three-dimensional positional audio. Its API style and conventions deliberately resemble those ...
, cocos2d-x Cocos may refer to:
Geography
* Cocos, Bahia, Brazil
* Cocos, Quebradillas, Puerto Rico, a barrio
* Cocos Island (disambiguation)
** Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean
*** Shire of Cocos, a local government area ...
, and Box2D
Box2D is a free open source 2-dimensional physics simulator engine written in C++ by Erin Catto and published under the MIT license. It has been used in ''Crayon Physics Deluxe'', ''Limbo'', ''Rolando'', ''Incredibots'', ''Angry Birds'', ''Tiny ...
, and has an open source repository that can be accessed at GitHub.com/blackberry. This open ecosystem helps developers target multiple platforms through partnerships with Appcelerator
Appcelerator is a privately held mobile technology company based in San Jose, California. Its main products are Titanium, an open-source software development kit for cross-platform mobile development, and the Appcelerator Platform.
Founded in 20 ...
, Apache Cordova
Apache Cordova (formerly PhoneGap) is a mobile application development framework created by Nitobi. Adobe Systems purchased Nitobi in 2011, rebranded it as PhoneGap, and later released an open-source version of the software called Apache Cordov ...
, dojo, jQuery Mobile
jQuery Mobile is a touch-optimized web framework (also known as a mobile framework), specifically a JavaScript library, developed by the jQuery project team. The development focuses on creating a framework compatible with many smartphones and ta ...
, Marmalade, NME, Qt, and Sencha Touch.
BlackBerry has changed its whole direction of development tools, and is now mainly embracing their C++
C++ (pronounced "C plus plus") is a high-level general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". The language has expanded significan ...
/ Cascades as the 'native' road to develop mobile app
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
s for their BlackBerry 10
BlackBerry 10 is a discontinued proprietary mobile operating system for the BlackBerry line of smartphones, both developed by BlackBerry Limited (formerly Research In Motion). BlackBerry 10 is based on QNX, a Unix-like operating system that was o ...
platform. HTML5
HTML5 is a markup language used for structuring and presenting content on the World Wide Web. It is the fifth and final major HTML version that is a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommendation. The current specification is known as the HTML ...
is considered the almost-native second path for development. In April 2014, BlackBerry has announced to stop the support of Adobe Air
Adobe AIR (also known as Adobe Integrated Runtime and is codenamed Apollo) is a cross-platform runtime system currently developed by Harman International, in collaboration with Adobe Inc., for building desktop applications and mobile applicatio ...
with the release of BlackBerry 10.3.1 to be released later 2014. From the time of the release of BlackBerry 10.3.1, it will not be possible to upload new Adobe Air
Adobe AIR (also known as Adobe Integrated Runtime and is codenamed Apollo) is a cross-platform runtime system currently developed by Harman International, in collaboration with Adobe Inc., for building desktop applications and mobile applicatio ...
-based apps to BlackBerry World.
See also
*List of mobile app distribution platforms
This list of mobile app distribution platforms includes digital distribution platforms, or marketplace 'app stores', that are intended to provide mobile applications, aka 'apps' to mobile devices. For information on each mobile platform and it ...
References
External links
AppWorld.BlackBerry.com
— official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:BlackBerry App World
Mobile software distribution platforms