BlackBerry App World 3.0 is now live in the Beta Zone and the updates and features seem to be centered around the new social APIs and supporting apps that use in-app purchasing and virtual goods. Something we would like to be seeing from App World is a coupon system and affiliate program. It’s surprising how long App World has been around and there’s still no affiliate program. With an affiliate program, BlackBerry would be better positioned as a platform for app discovery tools such as Appsfire, Heyzap and Chomp. A coupon system would also help with giveaways and would position App World as a great platform to blog about.
Here are the new features of App World 3.0:
Sleek New Design – The BlackBerry App World experience has been enhanced to help users discover the latest and greatest apps and content, starting right on the BlackBerry App World home screen where rotating spotlight banners show off all that’s new and exciting.
New Channels – Apps, Games, and Themes now have their own channels so users can get to what they want even faster.
Introduction of My Account – My Account makes managing BBID and payment options easy with direct access to all account information from the home screen.
New My World Features – My World gives users a streamlined view of their apps and status, and now at a glance, in addition to seeing which apps are installed and uninstalled, users can manage subscription content and services. When new updates or subscription renewals are available for apps, users will be notified using push technology.
App Social Sharing – When a user finds an app they can’t live without, they can share it directly from the app details screen through BBM, Facebook, Twitter, email and SMS
Evolved App Details Screen – At a glance, users can get a quick summary, check out reviews and star ratings, take a look at screen shots, and more
More Search Options – Quickly find apps with a Search Bar now appearing on the storefront home screen and search results are presented across Channels as well as My World. Search Bars are also within each Channel and users have the ability to filter by App Name, Price, Rating, Newest, Best Match, or Popular
You can read about this update at Inside BlackBerry for the official word from RIM.
Head over to the beta zone at blackberry.com/beta to get the download.
