RIM  launched the beta version of BlackBerry App World 2.1, which introduces a number of new features including the option for developers to offer apps that support in-app payments. In addition, RIM is trying to target apps more individually at users: the store’s “featured items” are now filtered by country and operator, to serve up apps that are more relevant to users. RIM changed its approach based on feedback it received during the App World 2.0 Beta Program. Another alteration following the beta is an extension to log-in sessions in the store. “With this latest release, a single BBID login session lasts for 20 minutes, making it easier for you to download and install as many apps as you’d like in one go,” says RIM.  Currently, the beta version of BlackBerry App World 2.1 is only available to Beta Zone members in US, Canada and the UK — full availability details were not revealed.

Arguably, in-app payments are the most significant  of the changes to the BlackBerry store. Letting users download an app for free and pay later through an in-app purchase of additional content has proved successful in other app stores. It is credited as being a significant revenue generator for developers using the App Store. Remco van den Elzen,  co-founder of analytics firm Distimo, said in November last year that he believed in-app purchases now represent about 30 percent of all iPhone App Store revenue, in an interview with GigaOm Pro. The so-called Freemium model makes particular sense for games developers.

RIM could do with a fillip from in-app payments so that BlackBerry App World adds to its app count and makes up some ground on its nearest rival, Nokia’s Ovi Store, as well as maintaining its distance ahead of newcomer Microsoft’s WP7 Marketplace.