RIM said it will offer customers “a selection of premium apps worth a total value of more than US$100” free of charge to subscribers, following a serious service outage which saw BlackBerry subscribers unable to access mobile internet services and mail for a number of days.

The company said that the move is “an expression of appreciation” for customers’ “patience” during the recent outages. They will be made available from BlackBerry App World over the coming weeks, and the promotion will continue until 31 December 2011.

The titles to be offered include a number of well known titles, including SIMS 3 and Bejeweled from Electronics Arts; NOVA, Texas Hold’em Poker 2 and Bubble Bash 2 from Gameloft; Shazam Encore and Vlingo Plus.

The company said that availability of the free apps will “depend on the type of device, operating system version, access to BlackBerry App World, and local conditions and/or restrictions.”