BlackBerry appears to have found a solution to one of the biggest complaints against BlackBerry 10, namely the lack of a large app ecosystem. It announced today that it is bringing the Amazon Appstore to its operating system with the launch of the BlackBerry 10.3 operating system this fall. In one fell swoop, BlackBerry will offer more than 240,000 new Android apps to its customers. Among these are popular apps such as Groupon, Netflix, Pinterest, Candy Crush Saga and Minecraft.
BlackBerry 10 already offers Android app compatibility. This new partnership will make it easier for BlackBerry 10 users to find and install apps on their devices.
For its part, the move will also BlackBerry to refocus its own developer program on “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 help BlackBerry developers migrate their apps to the Amazon Appstore in preparation for the launch of BlackBerry 10.3. BlackBerry will also unveil a new enterprise application partner program for corporate developers, ISVs and systems integrators to help grow the enterprise app ecosystem.
Source : BlackBerry