Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: BlackBerry, App, World, RIM, apps | Themes: Smartphones, 3GSM
RIM has updated its BlackBerry App World website and stipulated that the minimum price for a paid application will be $2.99.
In the Developers FAQs, the Canadian smartphone company lists the tiered pricing for applications submitted by developers. Ranging from free to $9.99, one can’t help but notice the missing 99c and $1.99 tiers.
There’s been a lot of talk about this move with most people pointing out that the fun but useless apps are priced at the so-called magic price point of 99c. In other words, most of us don’t mind spending 99c on an app, even if we end up never using it.
99c apps aside, we’re more surprised about the omission of the $1.99 tier. Not offering a 99c app is more than likely RIM’s way of attempting to keep away the riffraff apps, which we do understand. However, jumping from free to three bucks seems a little extreme, especially during a time when people are really watching what they spend. A reader on Crackberry commented, “as long as it’s a great app, I don’t mind paying $3.” So what about the apps that aren’t great but still fun to play around with?
From our perspective, RIM is well within its right to put these kinds of restrictions in place, especially if it’s a move designed to help with quality control. On the other hand, developers have to pay to submit free apps anyway so it would be nice if they could make a little bit of money by charging either a dollar or two for their creations. What do you make of this news?
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Seems a tad ridiculous to me. I have written two iPhone apps and they are each $0.99. Working on another right now that I plan to sell for $1.99. I'm not rolling in dough from these applications but I don't think they would sell well, if at all, at $2.99 or more. Some people WANT a simple app that doesn't a simple task and don't mind paying $0.99 for it. Putting this starting price at $2.99 is shooing away a lot of cheap, but cool and fun, applications.
For instance take a look at the iPhone App Store "Top 25 Paid Apps." There are only 5 application in the top 25 that are more than $2.99 and only ONE more than $4.99. The top 8 are all less than $2.99.
Poor decision.
basically it will me that the $.99 apps will be selling for $2.99 and blackberry getting a healthy cut of it. then add to the $200 / application registration cost! ouch. here apple is a better deal. finally, the blackberry developer tools are very primitive and limited when compared to microsoft mobile .net tools which are very powerful and easy to use. so they make it hard and expensive for small developers to play. i'm sticking with .net and apple. looks like blackberry is looking to be another has been like palm and their palm os. or like novell... these wierd properietary os's that are hard and expensive to develop for.
I think its just the professional BlackBerry image RIM is trying to keep. Charging $200/app means only serious developers will even think about the BlackBerry (and yes, they WILL think about it). BB has always been about business or productivety. While it might be nice to play a game on your BB, that's not the focus RIM is trying to create. RIM made their name selling business-oriented hardware. They see no reason to extend into the multi-purpose fad just because Apple, Google, Nokia, and everyone else is jumping there. RIMs mistake has been releasing toy phones like the Pearl and the new touchscreen (Groove, Curve, Cloud, whatever it is). Remember, serious businesses are still buying their execs BlackBerries, not iPhones (even Obama has his BlackBerry). As for Microsoft, when have they not jumped on a fad?
RIM's niche was corporate email and the ability to browse the internet. The problems for them now are; 1) Any Iphone user can now sync Exchange and/or POP mail and it will only be a matter of time before Android has Exchange support 2) How do they improve browsing? and 3) How do they compete with cheaper apps. that are cheaper to develop?
RIM may cater to business users but their advertising suggests it's reaching out towards users that desire your so-called fads.