LAS VEGAS - Research In Motion announced the launch of BlackBerry App World, its response to Apple's App Store, during its keynote address at the CTIA Wireless 2009: Mobile Life conference.

RIM expects approximately 1,000 applications to be posted by partners on BlackBerry App World this week, including applications from brands such as the New York Times, Pandora, Salesforce.com, Shazam, Slacker, Viigo, WorldMate, Bloomberg, ClearChannel's iheartradio, Gameloft, Hotel Reservation Service, Lance Armstrong's Livestrong.com, Lonely Planet and MTV. Before going into specifics about App World, RIM discussed the impact of smartphones on the wireless industry.

"Advanced smartphones and the services they provide are the future of the wireless industry, and convergence is driving opportunities for innovation," said Mike Lazaridus, president/co-CEO of Research In Motion. "No industry is going to be untouched by the growth of the smartphone industry, and they are benefitting everyone in value chain, from service and content providers to consumers."

The market share of smartphones will reach 26 percent of all mobile device shipments by 2012, according to IDC.

"Smartphones are changing the world, and they're at the center of the convergence of the telecom industry," Mr. Lazaridus said. "It is a magnificent time in the industry, and it will continue to grow."

A whole new App World
BlackBerry App World is a new on-device application store for BlackBerry smartphones, bringing together a mix of personal and business applications.

It is an obvious attempt to emulate the success of Apple's App Store, which has driven innovation in software development and helped mobile applications capture the imagination of consumers.

It will be interesting to see if RIM's App World will enable it to compete with Apple in the consumer space, given that its bread-and-butter has traditionally been the business/enterprise segment.

"BlackBerry App World is a push-based data system enabling updates anytime, anywhere," Mr. Lazaridus said. "It features integration with GPS mapping, WiFi, Bluetooth, home stereo audio systems, JAVA tools and controls for IT administration and security.

"The App World Catalog features applications from personal entertainment and business productivity brands," he said.

BlackBerry App World is available to BlackBerry smartphone users in the United States, Britain and Canada, with more country launches to follow.

Consumers in these countries can download the BlackBerry App World application to their BlackBerry smartphone by visiting http://www.blackberry.com/appworld from their handset.

BlackBerry App World is designed to automatically present the relevant catalog of applications available for a consumer's specific BlackBerry smartphone model.

Consumers can access BlackBerry App World over both Wi-Fi and cellular networks.

BlackBerry App World showcases several applications on its front-page carousel, letting consumers browse through a select number of featured applications. Featured applications will vary from week to week, helping users discover new applications for practically every aspect of life.

The "Top Downloads" area on BlackBerry App World lists applications that are the most downloaded.

BlackBerry App World will feature a variety of application categories.

Current categories include Entertainment, Games, Maps and Navigation, Music and Video, News and Weather, Personal Finance and Banking, Personal Health and Wellness Productivity and Utilities, Professional and Business, Reference and eBooks, Social Networking and Sharing, Sports and Recreation, and Travel.

BlackBerry App World includes a keyword search capability.

Applications on BlackBerry App World can be reviewed by consumers and those reviews are reflected in star ratings.

Consumers can access and read reviews from other users, see screenshots and read a description of each application before they download it.

BlackBerry App World users can recommend applications to other people through email, PIN, SMS message or BlackBerry Messenger.

BlackBerry App World includes a folder called My World, which can keep track of applications the user has downloaded.

It is a personal storage space that lets consumers uninstall and re-install applications and to easily transfer purchased applications to a new BlackBerry smartphone.

BlackBerry App World supports both free and for-purchase applications, including ad-supported, pay-per-download and subscription-based models.

"The BlackBerry platform provides a truly unparalleled mobile experience for millions of people and we are thrilled today to enhance that experience with a new app store that helps connect consumers with developers and carriers," Mr. Lazaridis said.

"BlackBerry App World aggregates a wide variety of personal and business apps in a way that makes it very easy for consumers to discover and download the apps that suit them while preserving the appropriate IT architecture and controls required by our enterprise customers," he said.