RIM’s BlackBerry World storefront now live in 18 countries

Research In Motion’s much talked about BlackBerry World storefront is finally live. The company has been working on revamping its entertainment offering over the last few months with heavy-weight partnerships. Now it’s open to the public.

BlackBerry users can now access the storefront’s fully stocked catalogue of television shows, movies, music and apps. According to the RIM, this new BlackBerry World will be stocked with up 70 000 apps.

The long-awaited unveiling of RIM’s saving grace, Blackberry 10, will happen today. The Canadian mobile giant has been battling to keep its head above water and has had to up its game as Apple and Android have been dominating the smartphone domain. With the launch of the new Blackberry 10 it has pulled out all the stops in a bid to provide decent competition to the overpowering iOS and Android dominated market.

Working in conjunction entertainment veterans such as Disney, Sony, Universal and Warner Brothers as well as a variety of record labels such as Domino Recording Company, Matador Records, and Sony Music Entertainment, RIM is hoping to keep users enticed with the latest in TV shows, films and music.

The company says that most movies will be available to users the same day they are released on DVD and Blu-Ray, while television shows will only be available the next day.

Pricing seems to be on the same level as other online stores with show episodes at US$2, movies at US$9 and US$17 and music coming in at between US$8 and US$9 an album.

The service will be available in 18 countries when the new mobile operating system launches, namely Canada, the USA, UK, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Australia, India, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore. Though the store is available in all these countries, some users may not be able to access the entertainment suite due to licensing issues.