BlackBerry App World Review

April 3rd, 2009, Author: MBZ, Categories: BlackBerry

Installation

Although I couldn’t contain my excitement for the BlackBerry App World my first impression was far from expected. I tested the BlackBerry App World on a new in box BlackBerry Curve 8900 – you would think you could just plug it in and go. One thing that really bugs me is that BlackBerry forces you to use Internet Explorer to get the Store on your phone. Ok I get it… you want me to use Internet Explorer. It puzzles me as to why large companies get sucked into Microsoft exclusivity.

After firing up Internet Explorer I was prompted to install a few updates since I haven’t used it since last year. After the updates are installed I continue on my journey to install the BlackBerry App World. At this point nothing could possibly go wrong, right? Wrong.

Alright so some extra resources (apparently AxLoader.cab) are required to be installed before pressing onward. BlackBerry, this error message is fantastic, an installation FAQ would be helpful because at this point I’m getting frustrated. After installing AxLoader.cab and restarting Internet Explorer I visit the URL that I know all so well by now. It HAS to work now.

It turns out that I was wrong again. Even after updating and running Internet Explorer, installing extra controls from the BlackBerry installation page, and finally installing the BlackBerry USB driver from CD (CD comes with phone) the page still resolved with an error. What about the customers who don’t have the CD anymore? What about the customers that bought their phone second hand? Where are the links to download the driver from this page? I’m not even going to go there.

For a brand new page that was only announced a few days ago you would think the Copyright date would match the year like the rest of the site.

Forget about using the data cable to install BlackBerry App World.

Instead find an area with good reception and visit http://www.mobileapps.blackberry.com then click on the link to install directly. But wait you must have a BlackBerry with a scroll ball because the App World won’t work on older phones without it. Who would have ever thought a review of the installation would be this long, my bad.

The BlackBerry App World Review

First impressions: simple, clean, fast, but limited.

At the time of this review BlackBerry has 17 applications in the ‘Featured Items’ slider that is presented as soon as you start the App World. A compilation of free and purchasable games, news, business, social media, and instant messengers are all available for download.

The BlackBerry App World menu is divided up into 4 main parts:

Categories (13)

Entertainment
Games
Maps & Navigation
Music & Video
News & Weather
Personal Finance & Banking
Personal Health & Wellness
Productivity & Utilities
Professional & Business
Reference & eBooks
Social Networking & Sharing
Sports & Recreation
Travel

When you click on a title you are presented with the full list of applications for that category, intuitive enough.

Top Downloads

25 of the most downloaded BlackBerry applications are on the list. At the time of this writing the top 3 are:

In my opinion TwitterBerry and the Associated Press BlackBerry application should be on this list.

Search

It’s rather simple, enter any common search term and get presented with a vertical list of matched applications.

My World

My World is the BlackBerry App World’s way of simply saying ‘My Downloads’. Here you will find a list of previously downloaded applications, status of their installation, & the file size.

The Application Page

No matter which menu you chose to get to an individual application page there will be a list of 5 options and a summary of the application.

Download

This button should automatically start the download unless it requires purchase. In the event that your download requires a purchase you will have to provide PayPal information. Be forewarned – the BlackBerry App World works only with PayPal for paid applications. Again why would they do this?

Reviews

It appears that the reviews are non-biased and left by actual users. You may only leave a review if you have downloaded the application and then revisit the reviews page this time you should be presented a large ‘Add Review’ button. The worst rated application that I could find was a soccer news application that was surprisingly found in the ‘Featured items’ category. It appears that BlackBerry has since removed the application due to bugs & possibly all of the negative reviews.

Recommend

This is a nifty feature because it adds a viral element to help spread truly quality applications. The ‘Recommend’ feature allows you to send a link to download the app through Email, Pin, SMS Text, or MMS.

Screenshots

Displays a slideshow style screenshot slider with images of the application in action.

Support

If you have any issues with the application you installed it is encouraged that you contact the developer. When clicking the ‘Support’ button an e-mail window will open.

Conclusion

If you can deal with the irritations with installation, phone model requirements, and limitations like being forced to use PayPal to download a paid application, the BlackBerry App World actually provides a simple and clean interface that does exactly what it’s supposed to. The categories option allows easy browsing to get to what you are looking for quickly. You are never in question about the price or quality of an application after reading the reviews. All in all I would recommend the BlackBerry App World after they work out the launch bugs.