If you’re looking for more ways to get apps onto your BlackBerry smartphone, Verizon would like to make a suggestion: use its storefront.
On Monday, Verizon began rolling out V Cast Apps on select 3G smartphones, like the BlackBerry Bold 9650, Storm 2 9550, Curve 8530, and Tour 9630. The company announces it will also bring its app store to the Storm 9530 and Curve 8330 “in the next couple weeks”.
Though the downloadable BlackBerry App World app has so far been the easiest way to find and download apps to the BlackBerry, the V Cast Apps store has the advantage of billing your purchases to your monthly statement. A similar structure of carrier billing is coming in the forthcoming version of BlackBerry App World. Meanwhile, V Cast Apps is available now.
Those compatible BlackBerry smartphones using the BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) will receive an icon that links to V Cast Apps. Those whose smartphones are linked to their employer’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) have to work a little harder, contacting their IT admin to find out how to get access.
If you’re completely uninterested, there’s an option for you, too, other than to turn a blind eye. You can block the app through the My Verizon Web site; businesses can shut it down through their Verizon Enterprise Center account.