MobiHand launches BlackBerry app store; can it compete?

Well folks, things just got interesting. A day ahead of the presumed April 1st App World announcement from RIM, a third-party mobile software distributor is making an effort to steal some of RIM’s limelight. Brilliantly timed, MobiHand’s app store announcement this morning will surely garner some attention and truth be told, it’s probably the better product out of the gate. MobilHand’s app store beta comes packing over 5,000 free and paid software titles already in its library, no ridiculous pricing requirements and a UI that is clean and simple. There are also a few nice features similar products don’t tout, such as a “Deal-of-the-Day” that offers a big discount on one new top-selling app each day. RIM’s saving grace of course, is that it is much better positioned to get App World in front of the eyes of BlackBerry users. While MobiHand is one of the more successful third-party app distributors in the game, it still doesn’t have anywhere near RIM’s reach. We also doubt MobiHand will be putting the marketing and ad dollars behind its app store to really make a dent, but you never know. Either way, tomorrow we should be getting a full taste of what RIM has in store but in the meantime hit the jump for a few more screen shots and hit mobihand.com/appstore from the browser on your ‘Berry to get rolling.

Tags: app store, Apps, BlackBerry, Games, RIM, themes