App Slush fund

BlackBerry App World has over 70,000 apps (from N4bb.com) which is great but if you look at apple it has 585,000 and android is a little behind. So it seems as if the current programs to get people developing aren't working all that well. Yes we have increased 20,000 apps in a couple months but 7,000 came in one swoop from Hamster.

My proposal to Blackberry would be this; Create a fund of around 125-150 million for developers to draw from. They would use the money to pay for there app development and you get a guarantee by them signing a 4 year contract. The contract would include adding to the app, updating and expanding when necessary. I think that this could help create new developer companies that would be loyal to RIM, it might also force developers to take a second look at RIM and the blackberry.

For companies like hulu, skype, netflix, draw something that don't seem to want to come to the playbook or BB devices. I say that RIM builds the apps for them and then runs it on there system. It will likely be expensive and companies might not allow it but RIM needs these apps to compete. This companies don't seems to want to spend the money to do it, so if RIM can build it then it would be great for the platform.

RIM needs apps to sell phones to today's consumers (younger people) and if they don't have them the phone sales wont be as great. You gotta spend money to make money and this might be a good investment.

For RIM its a real catch 22. Developers don't want to build apps because the phone sales aren't there but the phone sales aren't there because they don't have the apps.

Whats everyone else think?