RIM has launched a new services platform for developers that helps them to integrate ads and transactions with BlackBerry apps.
The new platform, unveiled at a developer’s day in San Francisco on Monday, is aimed at expanding the device’s small applications footprint.
While the iPhone has just passed the 100,000 apps mark, just a few thousand apps are available for the business-centric BlackBerry.
The new services platform “will help developers further monetize their applications” and build highly responsive and location-aware apps, said RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie.
The platform offers developers the ability to integrate ads into their applications, allowing users to call from an ad or directly link to an application in the BlackBerry App World store.
Developers will be able to sell premium content or annual subscriptions for games and other entertainment content from within the apps themselves.