Research in Motion Ltd (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry phones, is set to launch its one-stop shop for add-on applications yesterday.
While third-party programs have long been available for BlackBerrys from many sources, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company is now following in Apple Inc’s footstep by creating and operating a central store. Every other major company in the “smart” phone industry is doing the same.
BlackBerry App World will be available for download from RIM’s Web site starting at midday, said BlackBerry co-chief executive Jim Balsillie.
A thousand applications will be available at launch.
Unlike Apple’s App Store, BlackBerry App World will share revenue with cellphone carriers and allow them to profile themselves by setting up their own stores-within-the-store, Balsillie said. It will also be possible for customers to charge application purchases to their cellphone bill, if their carrier chooses to enable that function.
Microsoft Corp on Tuesday announced that carrier stores and billing will be part of its Windows Marketplace for Mobile, an applications store that will launch with new phones toward the end of the year.
Nokia Corp, the world’s largest maker of cellphones, has several application stores but said earlier this year that it would combine them into one. Google Inc runs an Android Marketplace of programs for the T-Mobile G1 phone, which will be joined by other phones running Google’s Android software this year.
The launch of App World coincides with a speech by RIM’s other co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis, at a cellphone trade show that starts in Las Vegas yesterday. He plans to profile the BlackBerry as a music-playing device, an important capability now that RIM is taking it from a business-oriented e-mail device to a mainstream smart phone competing with the iPhone.
But Balsillie said RIM has no plans to launch a music store of its own, like Apple and Nokia have.
“The key thing is to play the enabling card to all the music stores that are out there,” Balsillie said. “It would make as much sense for me to create my music store as it would be me to create my own e-mail application to compete with Yahoo and Gmail,” he said.
PLA MANEUVERS: Although Beijing has yet to formally announce military drills, its coast guard vessels have been spotted near and around Taiwan since Friday The Taiwanese military is on high alert and is closely monitoring the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) air and naval deployments after Beijing yesterday reserved seven airspace areas east of its Zhejiang and Fujian provinces through Wednesday. Beijing’s action was perceived as a precursor to a potential third “Joint Sword” military exercise, which national security experts said the PLA could launch following President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visits to the nation’s three Pacific allies and stopovers in Hawaii and Guam last week. Unlike the Joint Sword military exercises in May and October, when Beijing provided detailed information about the affected areas, it
CHINA: The activities come amid speculation that Beijing might launch military exercises in response to Lai’s recent visit to Pacific allies The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said China had nearly doubled the number of its warships operating around the nation in the previous 24 hours, ahead of what security sources expect would be a new round of war games. China’s military activities come amid speculation Beijing might organize military drills around the nation in response to President William Lai’s (賴清德) recent visit to Pacific allies, including stops in Hawaii and Guam, a US territory. Lai returned from the week-long trip on Friday night. Beijing has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan this year, and sends ships and military planes
Five flights have been arranged to help nearly 2,000 Taiwanese tourists return home from Okinawa after being stranded due to cruise ship maintenance issues, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced yesterday. China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) have arranged five flights with a total of 748 additional seats to transport 1,857 passengers from the MSC Bellissima back to Taiwan, the ministry said. The flights have been scheduled for yesterday and today by the Civil Aviation Administration, with the cruise operator covering all associated costs. The MSC Bellissima, carrying 4,341 passengers, departed from Keelung on Wednesday last week for Okinawa,
US president-elect Donald Trump said he would “never say” if Washington is committed to defending Taiwan from China, but “I would prefer that they do not do it [ an attack],” adding that he has a “good relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). “I never say because I have to negotiate things, right?” Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker after saying he would not reveal his incoming administration’s stance on Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack. Asked the question again, Trump, in a reference to China, said: “I would prefer that they