May 15th, 2011 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Platforms: BlackBerry | No Comments »

Last Thursday, MGB was present at the Meet The Playbook event RIM organized in Amsterdam. Most of RIM’s prominent speakers were present to inform developers about what possibilities they have with the PlayBook.

The PlayBook

But first our impression of the PlayBook. Surely, the lack of an e-mail client is something that will haunt RIM for the weeks or even months to come, yet we are amazed by the multitasking and gestures RIM built into the little 7” dual-core monster. With BlackBerry Bridge, all sensitive data is stored on the BlackBerry phones so if you leave your PlayBook lingering around town, you don’t have to fear anyone will get hold of your biggest secrets.

The Hardware

The PlayBook runs on a 1Ghz dual-core CPU and has full support for connecting external hardware over Bluetooth. This opens the door to barcode/NFC scanners and a host of other equipment. Rim will sell 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions, all black of course and no 3G on any of them. They all have to rely on a BlackBerry phone to do the networking. On the good side, operators can’t tell if the phone is connected or the tablet, so that’s cheap tethering. The PlayBook also supports Wi-Fi a/b/g/n.

BlackBerry Advertising Service

RIM is launching a number of tools to help out developers. One of them is the BlackBerry Advertising Service. This will allow developers to aggregate ads from Millennial Media, JumpTap, Xad, Iat49, Mojiva and Amobee. When using RIM’s platform, you get a 60% rev-share.

BlackBerry Analytics Service

Soon to launch as well is the BlackBerry Analytics service. It is a comprehensive suite that allows developers to gather all sorts of data on app usage. To comprehensive to detail out for this story, but keep your eyes peeled as this is coming soon.

BlackBerry App World

Currently, BlackBerry App World is generating 3 million downloads a day and 5 million App World clients have been downloaded so far. App World is active in 108 countries and supports 26 currencies. In most cases, consumers can pay their downloads over their phone bills. The Netherlands will be supported by the end of this year. So no hassle with creditcards and scratchcards. The Netherlands is the 9th biggest download market for App World. 67% of downloads come from North America. There are 30K Blackberry apps and 2K PlayBook apps available. App World also allows for country and carrier specific products, so exclusive deals with carriers can be made by developers.

BlackBerry Subscribers by OS

Blackberry 5.0 is the dominating OS on App World, taking 50% of the market. 4.6 comes second with 18% and third place goes to 4.5 with 12%. Blackberry OS 6.0 takes 10% of the market. BlackBerry OS 5.0 also generates 41% of paid downloads compared to 61% of the free downloads.

What you Can Sell

Rim allows developers to sell eBooks, magazines, photos, artwork, digital property. Witin apps, it is possible to sell new levels, features, characters and other content. Furthermore you can sell video streams and voice transcriptions.

What you Can’t do on App World

Just like Apple, RIM doesn’t want any nudity. Not even bikini girls! There’s no age rating yet (so that might change). Also, RIM doesn’t allow virtual currencies to be traded in-app (sorry Capcom) if you are using BlackBerry Payment Services. If you use alternate billing, no problem! Same goes for selling physical goods or services or digital goods across apps. Betting is also not allowed in App World, but both nudity and betting are allowed if you take care of distribution yourself.

Developers can sign up with BlackBerry App World for free. They don’t even have to pay for getting their apps signed.

Tags: App World . BlackBerry . Playbook . RIM
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