BlackBerry and Amazon have struck a partnership that will see the Amazon Appstore available to BB10 devices. This will officially launch with BlackBerry 10.3 sometime this fall, according to a press release issued today. BB10 devices already have Android app compatibility, but this will make the experience easier, bringing over an additional 240,000 to your BlackBerry, such as Groupon, Netflix, Pinterest, Candy Crush Saga and Minecraft. In addition, BlackBerry users can still access native BlackBerry apps via BlackBerry World.
“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.”
The press release also noted that BlackBerry will continue its trek down the enterprise road and eventually unveil a new “enterprise application partner program” for corporate developers, ISVs and systems integrators. No indication of when this will be available, or the perks for developing apps, but the goal is to develop “business-class functionality and enhance users’ productivity, communication and collaboration.”
As noted, BlackBerry World will continue to offer apps for enterprise users.
