When Apple announces anything new, the internet comes to a virtual standstill while everyone searches for videos of Steve Jobs strutting his stuff and telling journalists to shut down their laptops.

In comparison, RIM's press launches are somewhat subdued.

Nevertheless, given that BlackBerry remains the market leading smartphone platform in the US, news of an update to BlackBerry App World – itself 25 million users strong - is every bit as substantial.

Paying without PayPal

The select few invited to see RIM lift the lid on BlackBerry App World 2.0 in New York this week were treated to news that the company plans to overhaul the payment system currently adopted by the marketplace.

Though fans of the existing PayPal setup need not be alarmed, RIM is also set to allow customers to use carrier billing for their apps, with any purchases they make added to their monthly bills.

It's a significant overhaul for App World, made even more important by some reported consumer reluctance to sign up for PayPal due to privacy concerns.

Though carrier billing is still some way off the kind of automated setup offered by the App Store – and, indeed, RIM is yet to confirm just which operators will be on board in the first place - it's nonetheless an eye-catching step forward for the platform.

Keeping up with Apple

App World's UI is also set to be smoothed out, with RIM aiming to match it up to the forthcoming BlackBerry OS 6.0 – itself rumoured to the mirror the feature-set currently offered by iOS.

RIM appears to be taking notes from Apple when it comes to app visibility, too, with the company touting revised search options and 'top themes' and 'newest app' categories to help consumers keep up to date with what's hot on the marketplace.

An official release date for App World 2.0 is yet to be announced, though RIM suggested a summer release in the US is likely.
CIO