RIM Announces In-App Payments for Mobile Applications
Mobile Application Developers Thrilled with In-App Payment Methods
As competition picks up in the mobile application industry, Research in Motion (RIM) has been aggressively competing to gain a competitive edge in the mobile application industry. In its efforts to stay on top of the competition, RIM recently announced that its mobile application store known as the Blackberry App World has been updated to version 2.1. Version 2.1 in Blackberry’s mobile application marketplace had many new features but one of the most prevalent features is the addition of support for in-app payments. Mobile application developers from around the world were thrilled when they found out that RIM has finally created an avenue for individuals to access in-app purchases from their mobile applications.
RIM’s in-app payments will now allow mobile application developers the opportunity to offer mobile applications for free (or a very cheap rate) and later earn revenue from the mobile application through in-app upgrades, virtual goods, subscriptions or other billable content and/or services. This is a big step for mobile application developers as now they have the opportunity to showcase their mobile application (or at least give users the opportunity to preview it, use it for as a trail use) at a free rate and if users enjoy the mobile application, they have the opportunity to buy the full version of it. One mobile gaming application developer stated that their company will now create a mobile gaming application which has 5 levels/stages which users can play for free but if they want to access the remaining levels/stages, they will have to upgrade the mobile application by paying a small price. Mobile Application Developers feel as though this will be a key avenue for which they will start generating revenue from.
Another key component to RIM’s in-app payments is the fact that mobile application developers will be easily able to integrate the new service into their existing mobile applications by using a payment service software development kit. This is a big benefit for mobile application developers as they can now alter their previous developed mobile application to better fit the new in-app payment option rather then having to create a brand new mobile application from the start.
This new trend that is happening in the mobile application industry where individuals can download mobile applications for free and later pay for additional benefits seem to be the new way in which Blackberry mobile application developers will generate revenue and succeed in the mobile application industry. In fact, the mobile application developers who start making free mobile application available (with the feature to add on) will certainly gain more downloads compared to mobile application developers who choose to go the other route and charge a flat upfront fee for a complete mobile application. Mobile application developers should be aware though that as appealing as “app-upgrades” can be, a survey recently revealed that 26% of mobile applications are used only once after they are downloaded so mobile application developers must ensure their mobile application is attractive enough from the start to keep the users hooked wanting for more.
As the mobile application industry progress, there are new tactics, strategies and methods which mobile application developers are starting to discover and implement for their own mobile applications. As these mobile applications evolve, many mobile application experts predict there will be even more new avenues in which mobile application developers will be able to generate revenue such as from subscription charges, premium charges and so forth; until that happens, the mobile application industry and mobile application developers should feel comfortable and confident in the turn this booming industry is going in.