RIM Confirms BlackBerry Application Store will Launch in March

WRITTEN BY: Michael Morisy, News Writer

Research In Motion (RIM) has confirmed that it will create an online marketplace for BlackBerry applications similar to Apple's App Store for the iPhone. Dubbed the BlackBerry Application StoreFront, it will launch in March 2009.

The application store, which had been rumored for weeks amid various leaked documents and screenshots, will let developers set their own prices for applications and keep 80% of the revenue (a 10% cut above Apple's iTunes app sharing).

Ever mindful of its enterprise base, RIM also promised that companies which had deployed BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) would retain control over which applications can be downloaded to a device.

RIM said in a statement that carrier partners would also be given the opportunity to customize their devices' storefronts, giving RIM, as predicted, a multiple storefront strategy for BlackBerry.

The announcement came during RIM's annual BlackBerry Developer Conference. The company said that it would start accepting applications to be considered for the store this December.

This article originally appeared on SearchMobileComputing.com -- the online authority for the mobile enterprise.