Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) unveiled BlackBerry Analytics Service 1.0, enabling developers of Java-based BlackBerry smartphone applications to collect and analyze data on how consumers are using those apps. Powered by web analytics software provider webtrends, BlackBerry Analytics Service 1.0 is free for up to 25,000,000 server calls each month--according to RIM, the service generates reports illuminating how consumers engage each app, offering developers vital insight to help drive download totals, improve their marketing efforts and identify and solve technical issues as they emerge, rather than waiting for customer feedback.
BlackBerry Analytics Service 1.0 includes more than 20 interactive reports in all, including Key Metrics (monitoring consumer usage patterns), Events (underlining which app features are most popular with users) and related data. To begin receiving the reports, developers must register for the BlackBerry Analytics Service 1.0 and download the SDK here. The service requires BlackBerry Device Software v4.5 or higher--after adding the library to your app and writing a few lines of code to initialize the solution, developers can capture each specific user action by adding just one more line of code.
RIM first introduced the BlackBerry Analytics SDK beta in Feb. 2011. At that time, BlackBerry was still the leading smartphone OS in the U.S., representing 33.5 percent of the market according to research firm comScore--less than nine months later, BlackBerry makes up just 19.7 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, behind Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android at 43.7 percent and Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS at 27.3 percent.
For more:
- read this BlackBerry Developer's Blog entry
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