• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, April 1, 2009

Research in Motion on Wednesday formally unveiled its much-anticipated answer to Apple's App Store -- a sleek storefront launching with about 1,000 personal and business applications for BlackBerry smartphones.

Launching initially in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, BlackBerry App World showcases several featured apps on its front page as well as a set of tabs for browsing apps by category, most popular downloads, search by name and for managing downloads.

In addition to offering user ratings, screenshots and app descriptions, App World also lets BlackBerry owners make recommendations via email and other messaging options. A section called My World also lets users keep track of apps they have downloaded and to uninstall any they no longer want.

Downloading applications from App World requires a PayPal account, and users can access the store via cellular and WiFi networks.

The BlackBerry apps span 13 categories including entertainment, games, news and weather, professional and business, and travel. Among the initial group of app partners are Bloomberg, ClearChannel, MTV Networks, The New York Times, Pandora, Salesforce.com and WorldMate.

In addition to the minimum price of $2.99 for paid apps -- compared to 99 cents via the App Store -- the biggest difference between App World and Apple's rival storefront is the number of apps offered. The App Store, launched last July, now boasts more than 25,000 apps compared to what RIM says will be 1,000 in App World this week. As of Wednesday, less than 500 were available.

Avi Greengart, research director for consumer devices at Current Analysis, noted that only a fraction of the thousands of BlackBerry apps available from other sources. "I'm sure more BlackBerry apps will migrate over to App World in time, but they aren't there today," said Greengart, attending the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas. But he added the new storefront will make it easier for BlackBerry customers to find and procure apps.

"Consumers are now aware that a smartphone is a platform that they can enhance over time with new software, so it's incumbent on platform vendors to make the process of finding and buying those applications as seamless as possible," he said. "App World is a good -- and absolutely necessary -- start."

In addition to RIM, other companies aiming to emulate Apple's success by launching their own app stores include Microsoft, Palm, Nokia and Google.

Based on some early hands-on testing of App World, Greengart said it compares favorably to the App Store. "Both are well-organized and offer reviews and app purchases over the air," he said, while noting that it was still "premature" to do a side-by-side comparison.

While App World should help RIM expand into the consumer market, Greengart said it will also make it easier for the companies to more directly market enterprise applications to the device's core business users. And apps in the professional and business category can sell for far more than $2.99. The BizTrackit app from Shrunken Head Software for professionals with billable clients, for instance, costs $39.99 via App World.