RIM Re-Brands BlackBerry App World, Adds Music and Videos to It

In the wake of BlackBerry 10’s landing, Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion has announced a series of changes made to its BlackBerry App World portal, which will be known as the BlackBerry World moving forth.

The service was down for several hours this morning as the company was making the necessary changes, and the new branding is now visible on the web portal.

According to RIM, the change – initially unveiled in fall of 2012 – was meant to bring the software portal for existing BlackBerry devices in line with the company’s plans for the upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system.

“It is now simply called BlackBerry World. The naming change reflects a shift in the type of things you can purchase from the store as we transition to BlackBerry 10 and beyond,” the handset vendor said in a blog post.

The change in branding also brought along additional content in the app store, which now provides users with the possibility to download and purchase music and videos as well.

“BlackBerry World is going to be the one-stop shop for all of your mobile entertainment needs,” the company announced.

“With BlackBerry World, there are various ways to browse, download, buy, and manage apps using a BlackBerry smartphone, BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, or desktop or laptop computer, — inspiration is at your fingertips.”

The software storefront also sports easy sharing features, so that users can let their friends know of the content they have discovered in the BlackBerry World via BBM, Facebook and Twitter.

Furthermore, users will be able to invite their friends to download the content through simply tapping the handsets together, the company announced.

“The change will happen on the web storefront first and will be rolled out to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and BlackBerry smartphones in the coming weeks,” the smartphone designer also announced.

The company also notes that the aforementioned changes made to the web portal might not appear to all users starting today, as it usually takes around 24 hours for them to be visible in all markets where the BlackBerry World is available.