From BlackBerry App World to BlackBerry World: A Small Rebrand Before BB10
In January 2013, Research In Motion (RIM) made a seemingly small change that reflected a much larger shift in its mobile strategy: BlackBerry App World became BlackBerry World.
At first glance, removing one word from the name of an app store might not seem particularly important. But the decision came at a critical moment for RIM. The company was preparing to launch BlackBerry 10, a completely redesigned operating system intended to give the BlackBerry platform a new beginning.
The change from “App World” to “BlackBerry World” was therefore more than a cosmetic rebrand. It reflected RIM’s intention to make its digital storefront about more than applications.
Why Remove the Word “App”?
The original name, BlackBerry App World, clearly communicated its primary purpose: it was a marketplace for applications.
But RIM was preparing to expand the kinds of digital content available through the platform.
With BlackBerry 10, the company planned to offer not only applications and games but also music and video content. Contemporary reports described the renamed BlackBerry World as a broader entertainment destination rather than simply an app store.
The new name therefore made strategic sense.
BlackBerry App World
suggested:
This is where you get BlackBerry apps.
While:
BlackBerry World
suggested something much broader:
This is the digital world surrounding your BlackBerry.
The distinction was small in wording but significant in positioning.
The Timing Was Important
The rebrand happened just days before one of the most important events in RIM’s history.
BlackBerry 10 was scheduled to launch on January 30, 2013, alongside the company’s new generation of smartphones. The operating system represented a major departure from the older BlackBerry software platform.
RIM was therefore trying to create a fresh ecosystem around its new operating system.
The renamed BlackBerry World was an important part of that ecosystem.
A new operating system needed applications, developers and digital content. By expanding its storefront beyond apps, RIM was also trying to make BlackBerry 10 a more complete consumer platform.
What Was New About BlackBerry World?
The basic storefront continued to provide applications, games and other software, but the planned expansion included dedicated areas for music and videos.
Contemporary coverage described the new store as being divided into different content areas, including applications, games and other entertainment. The broader concept was intended to make BlackBerry World a one-stop destination for mobile entertainment.
This was important because the smartphone market was changing rapidly.
Consumers were increasingly using their phones not simply for communication, but also for:
- Listening to music
- Watching videos
- Playing games
- Downloading applications
- Purchasing digital content
- Connecting through social networks
RIM needed its ecosystem to compete on all of these fronts.
The Bigger Story Was BlackBerry 10
The rebrand makes more sense when viewed alongside the BlackBerry 10 launch.
BlackBerry 10 was not simply another software update. It was a substantial redesign of the BlackBerry experience.
The new platform introduced a touch-oriented interface, a gesture-based navigation system and new hardware such as the fully touchscreen BlackBerry Z10. A physical-keyboard model, the Q10, followed as another major BlackBerry 10 device.
RIM was effectively trying to convince consumers that BlackBerry could compete in a smartphone market increasingly dominated by Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android ecosystem.
BlackBerry World was therefore part of a much bigger effort.
The company wasn’t simply changing the name of its store.
It was trying to redefine what the BlackBerry ecosystem could offer.
A New Name for a New Era
The timing also makes the rebrand interesting from a branding perspective.
The word “App” had become strongly associated with mobile software marketplaces. But by 2013, smartphones were increasingly becoming entertainment platforms.
Removing “App” gave RIM more flexibility.
If the company successfully expanded into music, video and other digital content, the name BlackBerry World would still make sense.
The new name could accommodate whatever RIM wanted to add to its ecosystem in the future.
In other words, RIM was attempting to build a brand that was broader than the product category it had originally created.
The Importance of Developers
There was another important part of the story: applications.
A modern smartphone platform is only as strong as its ecosystem.
Even if the hardware is excellent, users may hesitate to adopt a platform if the applications they need aren’t available.
RIM understood this challenge.
Around the BlackBerry 10 launch, the company emphasized the number of applications being developed for the new platform. Contemporary reports noted strong developer interest and significant numbers of BlackBerry 10 app submissions.
The renamed BlackBerry World therefore had two audiences.
It had to attract consumers, who needed reasons to use the store.
But it also had to attract and support developers and content providers, who needed a viable marketplace for their work.
Looking Back at the Name Today
From today’s perspective, the change from BlackBerry App World to BlackBerry World seems almost trivial.
But it represents an interesting moment in smartphone history.
RIM was standing at a crossroads.
The company had built an enormously recognizable smartphone brand around secure communication, email and physical keyboards. But the smartphone market was evolving toward broader ecosystems built around applications, entertainment and touch interfaces.
BlackBerry 10 was RIM’s attempt to respond.
BlackBerry World was part of that response.
The company wanted its users to see the BlackBerry not merely as a communication device, but as a complete digital platform.
What Happened Next?
BlackBerry 10 launched on January 30, 2013, with the Z10 and later the Q10 becoming some of the most recognizable devices associated with the new platform.
BlackBerry World continued as the storefront for BlackBerry devices and the new operating system.
At its height, the platform had a substantial catalogue of applications. However, the broader smartphone market continued to move rapidly toward iOS and Android.
BlackBerry eventually shifted away from its own operating system strategy, and BlackBerry 10 was ultimately discontinued.
BlackBerry World itself eventually became a piece of smartphone history.
Why This Small Change Is Worth Remembering
The transition from BlackBerry App World to BlackBerry World is an excellent example of how a small branding decision can reveal a much larger business strategy.
The company was preparing for a new operating system.
It was introducing new smartphones.
It wanted more developers.
It wanted more digital content.
And it wanted consumers to think of BlackBerry as something larger than an email and messaging device.
The removal of the word “App” captured that ambition in just two words:
BlackBerry World.
At the time, it looked like the beginning of a new chapter for RIM.
In retrospect, it became one of the small milestones on the road to the final major chapter of BlackBerry’s own smartphone operating-system era.
For anyone interested in technology history, it is a reminder that major industry changes are often visible in surprisingly small details—a new name, a new logo, a redesigned store, or a new operating system waiting just around the corner.
A Note on the Original Coverage
The January 2013 coverage of this change is also an interesting example of early technology blogging. Sites such as BerryReview and other BlackBerry-focused publications closely followed the company’s announcements because BlackBerry had a large and highly engaged enthusiast community at the time.
The important distinction is that BerryReview was the name of the publication reporting on the change, while BlackBerry World was the actual rebrand of BlackBerry App World. The two names can easily become conflated when looking back at archived technology headlines.
That small detail is itself part of the history of the early smartphone-blogging era.