As Research in Motion prepares to open its Blackberry Application Center to answer the iPhone's App Store, an unaffiliated startup called the BerryStore has already launched a competing app store for Blackberry Apps. What makes it better than the official BlackBerry App Center (besides the name), is that apps in the BerryStore work across both old and new BlackBerries alike (not just the upcoming BlackBerry Storm), and across carriers. The BlackBerry App center, in contrast, is designed to be a carrier-specific store, with different apps for different carriers.

AYou can download the BerryStore as an app itself by visiting www.berrystore.com on your BlackBerry. (The App Center will require users to download apps through their Blackberry browsers, which is not the best experience). Already there are about 40 apps in the store, ranging from Loopt, 3Jam, and TwitterBerry to Obopay, Citysense, and Google Mobile. All of them are currently free, although the company plans on offering paid apps in the future. Developers can get more details about how to submit apps or the BerryStore here.

Below is a list of each app currently in the BerryStore with a short description:

Books & Reference

NeoReader: Turns your Blackberry into a barcode scanner.

Blackberry Wiki: Wikipedia reader.

Beyond411: Yellow pages, maps, and directions.

MobipocketReader: Mobile e-reader.

Business & Finance

Obopay: P2P payments.

Bank of America: Manage your dwindling bank account.

NyTimes DealBook: A bookmark icon to the popular blog.

E-Trade Mobile Pro: Manage your dwindling stock portfolio.

Lifestyle

Google Mobile: Search, Maps, Gmail.

Opera: Opera Mini Web browser.

Zumobi:Mobile widgets.

Google Mail: As in Gmail.

Poynt: Local search.

Maufait InstaFind: Al-in-one 411, flight tracker, movie showtimes, stock quotes, weather, news.

Puretracks:Mobile music store.

Tellme: Voice-enabled GPS info.

reQall: Voice-to-text recorder, to-do list, and idea manager.

Nobex Radio Companion: Shows you the name of the songs playing on the radio.

News & Weather

Viigo: News, sports, entertainment, weather, stock and traffic alerts.

New York Times: Bookmark icon.

ABC News: Bookmark icon.

The Washington Post: Bookmark icon.

CNBC Mobile: Bookmark icon.

USA Today: Bookmark icon.

Slate: Bookmark icon.

PinStack.com: Forums

Social Networking

TwitterBerry: Mobile Twitter client that avoids SMS charges.

3jam: Group text messages.

eBuddy: Instant messaging app

Dexrex: Archives your text messages.

Pinger: Voice IM.

Sports

Sports Illustrated: Bookmark icon.

ESPN Mobile: Bookmark icon.

Travel & Navigation

Google Maps: What it sounds like.

GPSed: Map your GPS tracks, save them, and share them. Also geotags your photos.

Citysense: Live hotspot tracking.

WorldMate Live: A personal digital assistant for travelers

Utilities

Box.net: Access and share files on your BB.

AutoLock: Locks the keyboard.

MidpSSH: Connect to remote servers.

MiniMoni: Monitor IP traffic.

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