RIM may have been struggling of late, with disastrous financial results and job cuts, but it seems it's no slouch when it comes to BlackBerry app downloads. It's just surpassed 3 billion of them, according to the BlackBerry Developer blog.
That's 3 billion downloads since BlackBerry App World launched. Which averages out to more than 2.5 million downloads every single day. Consider me thoroughly bowled over.
Apparently things are only getting better for the app service, with the number of downloads increasing all the time. The 1 billion mark was reached in 786 days, 2 billion after another 210 days, and it took only a further 176 days to hit 3 billion. These figures are all just from App World, so the figures don't include BlackBerry apps downloaded from third-party app stores, from companies internally, or directly from the web.
There are now 90,000 apps up for sale through App World.
How do these stats stack up? Well admittedly Apple's App Store trounces RIM's quite thoroughly, hitting as it did 25 billion downloads in March. But still, it's some much needed good news for RIM.
Recently RIM announced its BB10 operating system -- which many think will make or break the company -- was delayed, and won't launch until next year. The company is now being forced to reconsider last-resort options, including splitting down the middle and selling off its networking business, or joining forces with Microsoft.
The company's roadmap leaked last week as well, showing… well, some plans at least. Two BB10 handsets are incoming, along with a 10-inch tablet named the Blackforest. A 4G PlayBook is also on the cards. Providing we get 4G up and running in the UK soon, that could actually be quite a tempting prospect.
Do you use a BlackBerry? What can RIM do to turn around its fortunes? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.
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anonymous 8 July, 2012 14:14
Blackberry needs to get more high resolution games in its app store which i find is a big hit on th istore
anonymous 8 July, 2012 14:17
this means that every blackberry in the world has the same 10 apps.
anonymous 8 July, 2012 14:53
1) RIM needs to launch BB10
2) RIM needs new hardware with large high res screens (4-5") running on BB10
3) Most important, RIM need to speed up its development process such that the competition can't keep up. Every 6 months (or less) there must be new innovative hardware with new innovative software (OS & Apps).
4) With each new launch RIM needs to agressively advertise, hate to say this, but like APPLE.
anonymous 10 July, 2012 09:46
How can RIM do those things without money?
They can't, simple as that really.
Also, I had a Blackberry, I hardly ever downloaded apps because there weren't any worth having besides Twitter and Facebook. Even really obvious ones weren't there. Eventually my phone hid the app store (whatever it's called with Blackberry) and I could not find it anywhere, but I didn't care.
The phone was so unsatisfying as a 'smartphone' that I went about 6 months without internet on it as I was hardly using it, I only got it back because I moved into a new flat and had to wait over a month to get broadband installed.
Sorry, but there is a very, very good reason that Blackberry are struggling. They just utterly failed to keep up. There are very good phones for email and mine got me out of a sticky situation in London during the snow storms a couple of years ago, allowing me to find a cheap hotel, nearby, using Google Maps. The battery was excellent too, but it didn't have 3G. Trouble is, they're only just a step up from 'dumb phones', yet they are sold for smartphone money when the specs and services aren't even close.
As a second phone for business they're a good option, but they need attractive designs and to be sold for half the price of what they currently are.
Honestly though, in my opinion Android 4.0+ (unskinned on a Nexus) is the perfect mobile OS and I can't see me moving from it (unless Windows 8 is something really special). BB10 is going to have to be mind blowingly innovative and reliable to contend. I can't see it really being better than Gingerbread (or the equivalent iOS, which would be iOS6), to be honest. Just far too much catching up to do.
It is kind of a shame though, their small size, good battery, and excellent email apps (I used to think the physical keyboard was best for texts and emails until I used Swiftkey) make them really good business phones. But they're pretty much obsolete now.