BlackBerry App World billing integration tops 50 carriers worldwide

More than 50 mobile operators worldwide now enable subscribers to charge BlackBerry App World purchases directly to their monthly wireless bill, Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) announced.

In addition to support for premium applications and digital goods, BlackBerry App World is integrated with the BlackBerry Payment Service, which enables developers and content providers to offer in-app purchases (e.g., additional game levels), as well as one-off and recurring, subscription-based transactions. RIM noted that an average of 75 percent of BlackBerry App World gross sales are transacted through the carrier when operator billing options are available to customers. Average carrier revenues derived from apps increased between 100 percent and 300 percent after launch, the device maker added.

RIM and mobile payment processing partner Bango first introduced BlackBerry App World carrier billing in mid-2010 in conjunction with AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T). The storefront is now available in 170 markets worldwide and offers more than 100,000 BlackBerry smartphone apps.

RIM will launch its overhauled BlackBerry 10 platform in early 2013 and began accepting applications optimized for the OS last month. RIM is looking to BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry App World growth to reignite developer passion for its platform: According to a recent survey conducted by Appcelerator and research firm IDC, just 9 percent of respondents said they are very interested in writing BlackBerry apps, an all-time low. Forty percent of developers expressed strong interest in BlackBerry as recently as the first quarter of 2011, underlining the operating system's fall from grace. In comparison, 85 percent of respondents are very interested in building apps for Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone, and 83 percent express comparable enthusiasm for creating apps optimized for the iPad tablet.

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