Pandora Comes To BlackBerry

The music-streaming application is the latest push in RIM's strategy to court the casual market.

By Marin Perez
InformationWeek
March 18, 2009 02:26 PM

BlackBerry users will be able to access the Internet radio service Pandora on the go.

Pandora is a streaming-music service that uses an analysis system called the Music Genome Project to create personalized radio stations for a user based on any song or artist the consumer wants. The service will be free, but Pandora will serve visual and audio ads. The music application will run over a BlackBerry's Wi-Fi, 3G, or EDGE connection.

The music application is available on handsets that have the 4.3 version of the BlackBerry operating system or better, and this includes the Bold, Curve, and Pearl lines. Pandora for BlackBerry is not available yet for the touch-screen Storm or any BlackBerry on T-Mobile's network. BlackBerry users can download the app by pointing their mobile browsers to Pandora.com.

While the enterprise space will always be Research In Motion (NSDQ: RIMM)'s bread and butter because of the revenue it generates from handsets and BlackBerry servers, the company is increasingly targeting the casual, or prosumer, market. The company said nonenterprise users now make up more than 40% of its subscriber base.

To capitalize on this growing base of prosumers, BlackBerry has placed a stronger emphasis on what it calls lifestyle apps. These include programs that connect users to social networks, make it easier to use Ticketmaster, and provide more entertainment options on the handset.

This strategy will get a big boost later this month when the company launches the App World, an integrated store for browsing, buying, downloading, and installing mobile programs. RIM is hoping to replicate the success Apple had with its App Store, which has seen more than 800 million downloads in about eight months.