Australian BlackBerry users will be left out in the cold when manufacturer Research in Motion releases its application store for the device for users in Britain, America and Canada only. The “App World” store, similar to Apple’s App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch devices, will sell applications for BlackBerry devices via download. But an announcement from RIM indicates the store will launch in only three countries in the next few days.
“BlackBerry App World will launch in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom,” the statement says.
Research in Motion has not confirmed whether Australian users will have access to the applications, or whether Australian users will be blocked from the site altogether.
The company did not return calls at the time publication.
The site will allow users to pay for the downloadable applications via electronic transaction service PayPal, which many BlackBerry owners already use for purchases on auction site eBay.
The App World store, like Apple’s App Store, will allow users to create and sell different programs for users to download. The application market has become a lucrative industry for software developers, with several able to earn a living from writing programs ranging from games to virtual beers.
Applications available on the store will begin at $US2.99, three times the amount of the cheapest apps on Apple’s store. The most expensive will be priced at $US9.99.
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Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
