Asa Mathat
BlackBerry said Wednesday it will use the Amazon Appstore as a way to get more titles onto its platform.
"Making the Amazon Appstore available on BlackBerry 10 devices will help BlackBerry continue to meet two essential needs: greater app availability for our smartphone users and enhanced productivity solutions for enterprises," BlackBerry CEO John Chen said in a statement. "We've listened to our customers and have taken this important step to deliver on their needs, while executing on our strategy."
Access to Amazon’s storefront will come with the launch of the BlackBerry 10.3 software update later this year.
CEO John Chen hinted toward this move at the recent Code Conference, acknowledging that the company couldn’t afford to try to attract a broad set of developers toward a separate BlackBerry ecosystem.
BlackBerry had offered its own Android store as a way for developers to get apps onto BlackBerry 10 devices.
The move comes as Amazon prepares to introduce its own smartphone later in the day at an event in Seattle.
