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The Mobile Gadgeteer

Matthew Miller & Joel Evans

BlackBerry AppWorld passes 10,000 apps

By | September 9, 2010, 5:07am PDT

Summary: RIM proudly announces that it hit the 10,000 app mark–the company still has a long way to go to catch its rivals

According to a tweet by Research In Motion (found via rethink-wireless), BlackBerry’s AppWorld has now reached more than 10,000 apps.

While the above may not seem significant compared to Apple’s 250,000 apps or Android’s rumored 100,000, given the amount of people worldwide using a BlackBerry, the fact that it hit the 10,000 mark is at least a sign of developers being committed to the platform. Also, when you compare the 10,000 to the uphill battle that Microsoft faces with its Windows Phone 7 platform, it does seem that BlackBerry is making some headway. Of course, given Microsoft’s reach, the company is now claiming that 300,000 developers have signed up to develop for Windows Phone 7, so it could also launch with a well fueled App Store of its own.

What I also find interesting about this news is how it got out to the world–via a tweet. It seems that more companies are using Twitter as a means for breaking news. I don’t mind the “tweet” but I also would like a follow-up press release or e-mail in the future. Then again, I’m now following BlackBerry, so I guess the “tweet” worked.

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With more than a decade of mobile, Internet and wireless experience, Joel specializes in taking existing brands and technologies into the mobile and wireless space.

Disclosure

Joel Evans

Joel is a serial entrepreneur with his most recent business, CronkSoftware (cronksoftware.com), focusing on consulting and building games and applications for mobile devices. Joel has consulted for Microsoft’s Windows Mobile division and advises other companies on how to incorporate mobile into their existing brands and products. Joel purchases many of his devices and others are sent for review on a 30-day loaner basis and then returned to the supplier. If any devices are provided as “keeper” Joel will clearly disclose this in his reviews.

Biography

Joel Evans

With more than a decade of mobile, Internet and wireless experience, Joel specializes in taking existing brands, technologies and services into the mobile and wireless space. Joel is currently serving as the Managing Director of Cronk Software, Inc., a company he founded to offer full-service, end-to-end mobile strategy, design and development services.

Joel is the former founder and "Chief Geek" of Geek.com, a website praised by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and others as one of world's best sources of information for technology professionals and enthusiasts.

Joel also serves as a technology expert for a number of well-known publications and regularly advises corporations, analysts, journalists and bloggers on what the future of technology will bring. He brings decades of relationships with leading game publishers, online communities and publishers, along with both hardware and software product management and delivery expertise. Joel can be found online as "JoelGeek" and you can follow him on Twitter @JoelGeek.

Talkback Most Recent of 8 Talkback(s)

  • 20 apps
    I wonder how many different apps are really used?

    I reckon most people are like me, and use 5 or 6, and maybe only the top 20 apps cover the bulk of uses of the Blackberry and other Smart phones.

    I don't think it's the quaNtity of apps that matters, I think its the quaLity of those top 20 ones, price, battery life etc. that really matters.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    guihombre
    9th Sep 2010
  • RE: BlackBerry AppWorld passes 10,000 apps
    Hmmm...
    Looking at App World under categories and adding up those numbers only gives me 6786 apps of which 1708 are themes. Is it fair to consider themes as apps?
    I'll assume appworld is only showing those for my particular Blackberry Curve 8900, but I still have to wonder about counting themes as apps.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Ray (Canada)
    9th Sep 2010
  • RE: BlackBerry AppWorld passes 10,000 apps
    @Ray (Canada)

    If Apple can count e-books as 'apps' then I guess RIM can count themes as apps
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Doctor Demento
    9th Sep 2010
  • RE: BlackBerry AppWorld passes 10,000 apps
    A lot of apps will do the same thing. So not many are used. On the road I use the Poynt app a lot. Love that app.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    ITOdeed
    9th Sep 2010
  • RE: BlackBerry AppWorld passes 10,000 apps
    10,000 huh? Well, I suppose there's a nap for that.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    I12BPhil
    9th Sep 2010
  • RE: BlackBerry AppWorld passes 10,000 apps
    Apple has it's own way of counting things. I think by definition, if an application is a program that runs something, it's an app. clearly an ebook or a theme isn't.

    Here's the big comment. i don't give a crap on how many apps are available. If they don't work what's the point of showing them off. I downloaded an app that gave me sports scores [via SMS since I don't have internet access except wifi]. I used it once but in the 2 weeks of it being installed, it drained my battery twice as fast as normal. And I used it once! [Oh and the developer didn't return my email when I mentioned this.]
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Gis Bun
    9th Sep 2010
  • RE: BlackBerry AppWorld passes 10,000 apps
    "amount of people"? Look, if you are going to write for a living, at least learn to do it properly. People, and other countable things, don't come in "amounts", they come in numbers, since you can count them. One, two, 100, etc. Things that come in arbitrary quantities, such as ice cream, water, or mud, have amounts, since without the amount there's nothing to count. "12 muds" doesn't make any sense, but "12 pounds of mud" does. So, if there was an "amount of people", was it one scoop, or two? Perhaps 10 lbs of people?

    As for 10,000 apps, or 250,000 apps...who cares? If it has the apps I want, that's good. If it doesn't, that's bad. All platforms are likely to have the critical apps I really care about...like e-mail, camera, phone calling, MP3 playback, etc. Whether there's a flashlight app, or one that makes my phone vibrate to the Star Spangled Banner doesn't really matter to me at all.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    plonk@...
    10th Sep 2010
  • RE: BlackBerry AppWorld passes 10,000 apps
    Congratulation Blackberry, there is a huge market and competition is going on, we need quality applications instead of quantity. thanks blackberry and still some great companies are available in competition so i would welcome all the quality work and instead of quantity of applications. and one thing is interested whatever the source it is but it is an information and thanks to "tweet" for this breaking news

    www.a2zmobiles.com

    regards
    ZDNet Gravatar
    bravokingz
    26th Sep 2010

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