BlackBerry has made music downloads live on its app and content store, BlackBerry World (erstwhile BlackBerry App World), in the Indian region.
The move was more or less expected since the company is set to launch its BlackBerry 10 flagship phone, the Z10 in the Indian market, today. At the time of writing this post, the store offers mostly International music, with options to buy individual songs or complete albums. We were not able to find Bollywood or other India-specific content. The store is also missing movie and video downloads. We were not able to access music downloads on our PlayBook and on a 9360 phone.
An earlier press release from BlackBerry had earler mentioned that the store will offer DRM-free music but it appears that the tracks can be synched between five authorised devices. However, BlackBerry clarifies that majority of music on BlackBerry World is DRM free but some tracks may have DRM, and that both pricing of music and DRM (or lack thereof) are dependent on the studio or artist releasing the music.
It appears that the store is still a work in progress as albums are displaying Rupee pricing, while individual songs show pricing in US Dollars. The store also offers a one minute preview of the songs, along with a QR code that can be scanned and directly downloaded to the BlackBerry device.
The pricing of music is more towards the premium side. Sample this- Adele's Skyfall single costs Rs 12 on iTunes, while the same track costs Rs 30 on the BlackBerry World.
Last month, BlackBerry had
rechristened its BlackBerry App World as BlackBerry World in line with the company's plan to reposition its store as not merely an app store but to add mobile and video content as well.