RIM Offers Free Apps as Apology for Shutdown

BlackBerry users will soon be able to find out at no cost if there are $100 worth of apps that interest them.

By way of apology for a service collapse that left millions of BlackBerry users around the world without service for up to three days last week, the device’s maker, Research in Motion, said Monday it would offer a $100 credit for select apps in its online store.

Whether that will placate users, however, is unclear.

“RIM’s challenges are bigger picture,” said Mike Abramsky, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets. “It would mainly be of interest to some people who see value in apps.”

One major problem for both RIM’s apology and the company’s general fortunes is the relative lack of appealing apps for the BlackBerry, particularly compared with Apple’s iPhone or phones that use Google’s Android operating system.

In its announcement, RIM listed only 12 apps that would be available at no cost, although it said that more would become available before the downloading period began on Wednesday.

While the offer could conceivably prompt BlackBerry users who previously had not visited the BlackBerry App World to take a look, it might also remind them about the limited extent of the company’s software offerings.

Indeed, if users opt for the less expensive, professional version of DriveSafe.ly, which sells for $19.99, rather than the $79.99 “enterprise” version, and then buy all of the other apps on the list released on Monday, they will have spent only $76. Even that seems unlikely as some of those apps perform similar functions.

The free downloads will be available until the end of the year.

Instead of free apps, RIM is offering corporate and government users technical support at no cost for one month.

The financial impact of the offer on RIM, which has failed to reach recent financial targets, is unclear. There are about 70 million BlackBerry users worldwide, both consumer and corporate. While RIM will have to reimburse the developers of the apps it gives away, Mr. Abramsky said that it was impossible at this point to estimate that cost.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/technology/rim-offers-free-apps-as-apology-for-outages.html?partner=rss&emc=rss