BlackBerry continues its push to make the platform’s app ecosystem on par with Android and iOS, and a new move announced today will probably be the company’s biggest stride yet. As of the BlackBerry 10.3 update landing this Fall, the apps within the Amazon Appstore will be available to BlackBerry 10 device owners.
Notably, the Amazon Appstore has nearly 200,000 apps, which is not as many as Google Play — but a majority of the most popular ones are definitely present. This isn’t necessarily the case with BlackBerry, which leaves users crossing their fingers that developers will tap this relatively tiny market and put their apps on BlackBerry World. Alternatively, many of these users have simply given up and resorted to unofficial methods of obtaining these apps.
This news comes hot on the heels of what will likely be an Amazon smartphone announcement later today (tune in at 1:30 PM ET for our coverage), meaning that the Appstore will almost surely be hitting Amazon’s own smartphone platform before BlackBerry’s. But in the meantime, BlackBerry says that its working with Amazon to make sure the experience is up to par when the Appstore arrives later this year.
Scroll down for the full press release.
Waterloo, ON – BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a world leader in mobile communications, today announced that the Amazon Appstore will be available with the launch of the BlackBerry 10.3 operating system this fall, greatly expanding access to thousands of the most popular apps and games to BlackBerry customers.
With more than 240,000 Android applications in the Amazon Appstore worldwide, BlackBerry 10 device customers will gain access to popular apps such as Groupon, Netflix, Pinterest, Candy Crush Saga and Minecraft.
The strategic move also enables BlackBerry to align its developer program with its renewed focus on delivering the most secure, end-to-end mobile enterprise solutions, by placing more emphasis on the development of vital enterprise and productivity applications.
“Making the Amazon Appstore available on BlackBerry 10 devices will help BlackBerry continue to meet two essential needs: greater app availability for our smartphone users and enhanced productivity solutions for enterprises,” said BlackBerry Executive Chairman and CEO John Chen. “We’ve listened to our customers and have taken this important step to deliver on their needs, while executing on our strategy.”
BlackBerry and Amazon will be working with the BlackBerry application developer community to help them migrate their apps to the Amazon Appstore in preparation for the 10.3 launch, where they will benefit from the store’s powerful promotional tools that enable maximum discoverability and profitability. This will include Appstore Developer Select, which provides enhanced merchandising, as well as Amazon Coins incentives, the Developer Promotions Console, which enables real-time pricing adjustments and specials, and the popular Free App of the Day program.
BlackBerry will unveil a new enterprise application partner program for corporate developers, ISVs and systems integrators, designed to expand the number of enterprise applications that leverage BlackBerry 10 to deliver business-class functionality and enhance users’ productivity, communication and collaboration.
For more information about BlackBerry 10, visit www.blackberry.com/blackberry10OS.
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