RIM Looks For Quality, Local Apps For BB10 Launch

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Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) (TSE:RIM), is taking the stance of application quality over quantity for the upcoming launch of its BlackBerry 10 devices.

Set to kick off on January 30, the company will target its apps to customers across different regions. With a projected 100,000 apps, which represents a new record for a platform at its launch, it still pales in comparison to those offered on either Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) or Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) devices, reported Reuters.

RIM Looks For Quality, Local Apps For BB10 Launch

But it is a higher number than with its PlayBook tablet computer, which received poor reviews last year from a lack of apps and insufficient software.

Last week, Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) (TSE:RIM) Chief Executive Thorsten Heins spoke to Reuters and said that while app libraries have an important role in making or breaking smartphones, “it’s not all about numbers.”

He explained, “The tactic we are deploying is by country and by region. We are aiming to have the most important 200 to 400 apps available, because many applications are regional and they really do have a regional flavor.”

Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) (TSE:RIM) will offer the most popular applications in the marketplace as well as ones that Blackberry users rely on to get thing done.

The number of apps will still lag behind Apple and Google app stores with their more than 700,000 apps.

Heins doesn’t believe more is better and said,

In my view it is really short-sighted to say, you have 600,000, you have 400,000 and you only have 100,000 apps, so you are not good.Look at how many actually get downloaded. … BlackBerry App World today is still the most profitable portal for application developers – it has the highest number of paid for downloads.

Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) (TSE:RIM) will include business-emphasized apps such as Cisco WebEx, Box, SAP and Blackboard; music and movie apps including TuneIn, Nobex and Popcornflix and gaming apps from Gameloft, Halfbrick and Paw Print Games.

The BB10 will also have social network apps including LinkedIn Corporation (NASDAQ:LNKD), Foursquare, Twitter and Facebook Inc  (NASDAQ:FB) on Day 1 with additional apps set to launch at a later time.

Fall in Popularity

Once utilized by government and corporate workers as the phone of choice, Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) (TSE:RIM) smartphone users have gone to rivals and the company’s stock has fallen.

According to Reuters, the BlackBerry is still popular in emerging markets thanks to a fondness for its BBM messaging system.

The company is working to keep this audience and has held developer events worldwide.

Heins said to Reuters, “We’ve done 30 jam conferences in various cities all around the world, to get the bucket filled with meaningful local apps and not just a huge bunch of applications that you collect and throw at your audience. It is a very, very targeted approach.”

The executive did acknowledge the company’s future could ride on the the BB10’s success and so far client feedback has been positive. It hopes to gain market share away from Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android operating system.

While developers appear confident, investors aren’t convinced yet, reported Reuters.

Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) (TSE:RIM)’s stock is down 36.55 percent year-to-date.

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