T-Mobile to extend direct carrier billing to more digital products and services

T-Mobile announced on Tuesday that it will expand its Direct Carrier Billing option to support more digital products. The service allows T-Mobile customers to make purchases directly from their web browsers and charge them to their monthly T-Mobile bills. Customers can purchase music, games, social networking credits and more from their phones, T-Mobile tablets, or any of their computers connected to a T-Mobile network. Direct Carrier Billing will be available later this month, and once it is active, customers will see the option from participating providers during checkout. There is no additional fee for Direct Carrier Billing and customers can opt-out by contacting T-Mobile support.

 

Read on for the full press release.

Carrier Billing results in twice as many people buying applications

With the release of Version 2.0 of BlackBerry AppWorld, RIM added an option to purchase applications via carrier billing for select carriers. This is an option that is growing in popularity, and results in twice as many applications being sold by the average customer on carriers who support carrier billing.

The above chart shows the comparative amount of sales for the seven largest North American wireless providers, normalized by the size of their BlackBerry customer base. Of these carriers the two that support carrier billing in AppWorld (AT&T and Telus) see their average customer twice as likely to buy applications then a user on any of the other networks.

The measurements in this chart are relative to the number of purchases at Verizon Wireless (the largest carrier), such that Verizon would always have a value of 1.00X. The number of purchases is based upon purchases of Pixelated Plus from January-March 2011. Normalization for carrier size was based on data from the free application Pixelated over the same time period. All data was collected through BlackBerry AppWorld at the time of download.

via:bbr

RIM And Telefonica to Introduce BlackBerry App World With Integrated Carrier Billing

From Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. RIM and Telefonica today announced that they are working together to introduce BlackBerry App World with integrated carrier billing on a global basis. Carrier billing will allow Telefonica customers to purchase apps from BlackBerry App World and charge the purchases directly to their monthly bill. Customers will also be offered the flexibility of charging in-app purchases to their carrier bill which allows for the purchase of digital goods to be made without interrupting their application experience. Patrick Spence, Regional Managing Director for RIM, tells us:

 

“BlackBerry App World is now available in over 100 countries. Integrated carrier billing will make it easier than ever for Telefonica customers to purchase apps for their BlackBerry smartphones.”

Joaquín Mata, Global Head of Financial Services for Telefónica, says:

“Carrier billing is a payment method that brings a unique user experience and will further develop the on-device virtual goods and applications business.”

This type of integration is great for the user experience. Just one less bill to have to sort out of the stack of many.

 

source:RIM

Press Release: RIM Announces Plans to Provide Carriers with new BBM Mobile Gifting Platform

I didn’t see this one coming, but I like it! Today at Mobile World Congress 2011, RIM announced a Mobile Gifting Platform that works via BlackBerry Messenger and App World. Check out the press release below for full details. Pretty awesome!

Press Release

RIM Announces Plans to Provide Carriers with new BBM Mobile Gifting Platform

New mobile gifting platform will integrate with BlackBerry App World and carrier billing systems to allow BlackBerry subscribers to instantly gift airtime, apps and other carrier services from one subscriber to another using BBM

MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS, BARCELONA, SPAIN–(Marketwire – Feb. 14, 2011) – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today announced plans for an innovative mobile gifting platform for carriers that will allow one authorized BlackBerry® subscriber to use their post-paid or pre-paid account to conveniently, securely and instantly approve and pay for airtime, apps or other carrier services requested by another BlackBerry subscriber.

TELUS Users Can Now Buy Apps via Carrier Billing in App World

Back in early September we heard that TELUS would be the first carrier in Canada to provide carrier billing support with App World. The news was buried in a press release about the launch of the BlackBerry Torch in Canada and now users can finally take advantage of the service. So if you’re a TELUS user, head over to App World and give it a shot.

BlackBerry App World: Discover The Possibilities

To View this Video on your BlackBerry or other Mobile Device, Click Here.

BlackBerry posted a promo video on their official YouTube channel that we wanted to share with you. The video showcases many of the popular apps and features available in BlackBerry App World 2.0. Things like barcode scanning and the new BlackBerry ID system are shown as well as carrier billing and the top 25 charts. Check out the video and then check out some of the super apps available in BlackBerry App World.

• Visit BlackBerry App World
• Download App World For Your BlackBerry Here

RIM Confirms BlackBerry App World Getting Desktop Commerce

In an interview with Martyn Mallick, Sr. Director, Business Development and Strategic Alliances, we got confirmation that App World for desktop will be getting commerce. This isn’t necessarily big news because we’ve always assumed that this was part of App World’s roadmap, but it’s nice to get confirmation from RIM on the upcoming feature. The feature was also confirmed in an App World session here at DevCon, where we learned that the service will use your BlackBerry ID and will even be able to leverage carrier billing from the desktop. With this new feature, users will be able to buy and download apps and they won’t even need a data plan. All they’ll have to do is purchase and side-load.

NHCBBA Weekly Roundup 9-4-2010

3rd-Party Software

• Share Web pages between your PC and BlackBerry with Home to Phone
• Starbucks Card Mobile App for BlackBerry
• Gowalla for BlackBerry updated to v1.0
• Updated: Pandora For Blackberry v.1.1.4 Now Available
• MilkSync for BlackBerry Receives a Minor Update to v.1.0.7

App World

• Six Solitaire Legends Games for BlackBerry FREE for September only!
• Death Calculator for BlackBerry Will Set You Back $1.99
• BlackBerry Traffic App Beta v1.2 Adds Torch Support
• TELUS named first Canadian carrier to implement carrier billing for BlackBerry App World
• Xobni for BlackBerry now available in BlackBerry App World
• Review: PingChat 2 unites BlackBerry, iPhone and Android users through IM
• Free Adidas BlackBerry Personal Training App- miCoach
• BlackBerry App World 2.0 Now Available Across Asia

BIS Problems & Outages

BIS Problems Confirmed

BlackBerry Developers

• Second Verizon Developer Community Conference This September

Blackberry NEWS

• Video: BlackBerry Block Party in Australia- Skateboarding Half Pipes, Hot Music, & Models
• DataViz Bought By RIM?
• Must have applications for Blackberry.
• Eyes off BlackBerry, Google and Skype next Aim
• Allerta Testing Battery Life on Upcoming inPulse Watch
• Cell phone battery life charts
• Dallas survey finds smart phone owners use devices on the toilet, funerals and during sex
• Cnet Review: RIM BlackBerry Torch 9800 (AT&T) Specs

Cellular Providers

• Best Buy Canada now taking pre orders for BlackBerry Torch
• Verizon Wireless now offering prepaid data packages on 3G smartphones
• Virgin Mobile Canada launching BlackBerry Torch 9800 Coming September 24th
• TELUS named first Canadian carrier to implement carrier billing for BlackBerry App World
• Orange Armemia to Get Bold 9700
• BlackBerry Torch 9800 available from Telus on September 24th
• BlackBerry Torch 9800 available from Rogers September 24th for $199
• Zoompass Mobile Payment is Introduce by Rogers.
• Big Red Updates NFL Mobile, to be Released September 1st
• My Verizon Mobile updated with new look and better features
• BlackBerry Curve 3G available from T-Mobile September 8th for $79.99
• Smokey violet BlackBerry Curve 3G now available from Rogers
• Cricket Wireless looks to go national

Government

• BlackBerry encryption, time to talk turkey
• RIM Avoiding Ban in India By Cooperating?

Members

• NHC Blackberry Alliance is looking for more editors!

NEW Blackberry’s

• BlackBerry 9670 clamshell to be branded the BlackBerry Style!
• BlackBerry Torch – Launch Party On The Red Carpet
• Release Date?!? BlackBerry 9800 Torch on Rogers and Telus!
• BlackBerry Bold 9780 Spotted in White

New Features

Cnet Review: RIM BlackBerry Torch 9800 (AT&T) Specs

North America Cellular Providers

• Best Buy Canada now taking pre orders for BlackBerry Torch
• Verizon Wireless now offering prepaid data packages on 3G smartphones
• Virgin Mobile Canada launching BlackBerry Torch 9800 Coming September 24th
• TELUS named first Canadian carrier to implement carrier billing for BlackBerry App World
• BlackBerry Torch 9800 available from Telus on September 24th
• BlackBerry Torch 9800 available from Rogers September 24th for $199
• Zoompass Mobile Payment is Introduce by Rogers.
• Big Red Updates NFL Mobile, to be Released September 1st
• My Verizon Mobile updated with new look and better features
• BlackBerry Curve 3G available from T-Mobile September 8th for $79.99
• Smokey violet BlackBerry Curve 3G now available from Rogers
• Cricket Wireless looks to go national
• Release Date?!? BlackBerry 9800 Torch on Rogers and Telus!

Operating Systems

• Leaked OS: Curve 9300 OS 5.0.0.912
• Leaked: OS 5.0.0.912 for the BlackBerry Curve 3G
• Official OS: 5.0.0.846 for the BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 from Vodafone Italy
• Official OS: 5.0.0.886 for the BlackBerry Curve 8530 from U.S. Cellular
• Official OS 5.0.0.822 for the BlackBerry Curve 8520 and 8900 now available from T-Mobile
• Official OS: 5.0.0.886 for the BlackBerry Curve 8530 from U.S. Cellular
• Official OS: 5.0.0.846 for the BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 from Vodafone Italy

Other Messengers

• Review: PingChat 2 unites BlackBerry, iPhone and Android users through IM

Upcoming/Rumored Smartphones

• BlackBerry Curve 8980 spotted heading for China Mobile

TELUS named first Canadian carrier to implement carrier billing for BlackBerry App World

While a lot of folks were more interested in the fact TELUS was releasing the BlackBerry Torch on September 24th, reading over the announcement it seems as though some important BlackBerry App World news got overlooked. The press related the majority of the information to the device launch but near the bottom it was noted:

TELUS is excited to be the first carrier in Canada to offer clients the ability to pay for their BlackBerry App World purchases on their mobile phone bill as well as through credit card payment. This ability will be available prior to the BlackBerry Torch launch.

That’s great news for TELUS customers and a huge advancement for BlackBerry App World in the Canadian market. While some not really look at it as being a huge thing, it means quite a bit. Especially, for those who develop BlackBerry applications as their goods will now be more accessible then ever.

Via: CB

BlackBerry App World 2.0 Now Available Across Asia

It looks like customers in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand can now download the latest version of BlackBerry App World 2.0.

Research In Motion (RIM) is today announcing updates to BlackBerry App World in Asia. BlackBerry App World is the official application store for BlackBerry smartphone, and provides customers with an intuitive, integrated service for discovering, downloading, recommending and managing mobile applications for personal or business use. New features in BlackBerry App World, which is available for download today, include a credit card payment option, enhanced discovery and search capabilities, and a new user identification system called BlackBerry ID. In addition to the broad selection of free mobile applications available in BlackBerry App World, customers can also now purchase a variety of additional mobile application starting from US 99 cents. Credit Card Payment Option and carrier billing is also included in the all new updated App World 2.0.

Hit the more button to see the complete list of App World 2.0 features >>>