Music, movies and TV shows are now available on the BlackBerry World Web store, hours before Research in Motion debuts the near-final version of BlackBerry 10. The entertainment content debut on BlackBerry World gives prospective BlackBerry 10 owners a chance to peruse the catalog before new RIM devices ship. The first handset is expected to be available in February. (See related:Live Blog: BlackBerry 10 unveiled & Watch live video of RIM’s BlackBerry 10 event) RIM will officially pull back the curtain on BlackBerry 10 at 10 a.m. ET Wednesday and you can follow along with Techhive’s BlackBerry 10 live blog. Until then, let’s have a look at what BlackBerry World is offering and how it measures up to what you can get on iTunes and Amazon.
Music
Since digital music is available DRM-free, you can really load your BlackBerry device with music from anywhere including Amazon Cloud Player, Apple’s iTunes, and Google Play. But there is a convenience factor to consider for downloading content directly from your handset provider. Right now, the music selection on BlackBerry World appears to be extensive and pricing is comparable to iTunes, but finding top albums was hit or miss. Comparing the top 12 albums on iTunes, only five were available on BlackBerry World including “The Lumineers” by The Lumineers, “Long.Live.A$AP” by A$AP Rocky, “Night Visions” by Imagine Dragons, “Set You Free” by Gary Allan, and “Unorthodox Jukebox” by Bruno Mars. Compared to the Amazon MP3 store, BlackBerry World fared a bit better, missing out on only four of Amazon’s top 10 albums. TIP: You’ll have an easier time finding music if you search by artist using the Web version of BlackBerry World.
Movies and TV shows
For movies, BlackBerry World was pretty close to the top 10 on iTunes, missing out on only “Hotel Transylvania” and “Safety Not Guaranteed.” BlackBerry World’s movie selection also fared well against Amazon Instant Video. Pricing was similar to iTunes for rentals, but purchased movies on BlackBerry World tended to be more expensive than iTunes, with movie prices around $17 and $20. Standard definition movies on iTunes are usually $15 or $17. It wasn’t clear whether the movies on BlackBerry World were standard definition or high definition. TV shows were also hit or miss. You could find “Homeland,” “Arrow,” and “Elementary,” but not “Parks and Recreation.” “Justified” third season was there, but not the current season, and the same went for “Glee.” Pricing for TV shows was pretty standard at $1.99 per episode. There didn’t appear to be a season pass bulk purchase option. BlackBerry World’s video content is supplied by Rovi. That’s a quick look at BlackBerry World’s entertainment catalog in the run-up to RIM’s BlackBerry 10 debut. Don’t forget to check back at 10 a.m. for the BlackBerry 10 live blog, followed by hands-on reports, news and analysis.
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