How to make an impact in blackberry application development depends on the kind of applications you are offering your target audience. There are a number of companies out there offering to help you develop or outsource develop your programs, but how can you be sure they are reaching the right people?

The first thing to remember is what you are developing for. A smartphone is for some people as crucial as their wallet. Your aim should be to make things that are quick, simple to use and take full advantage of the features that are built into it.

A good place to start is to look at the applications that are already on the Blackberry App World website. Look at the kind of services as see what you can offer. Either you can offer something new, or can build on that which is always out there. Keeping an eye on the competition is always a good idea, so even when you have finished you still be keeping a look out for your rivals!

Anyone who applies to have their work featured need to include an icon, so you should have something bold and attractive to make people to take a look at what you have to offer. Effectively, this is your first impression. This is a good start but after that you need to deliver substance behind the style. It should be user friendly, so that they do not have to look at an instruction manual, a read me file or go on a user support forum. If people have to do this, they become frustrated and are unlikely to recommend it to their friends.

It should also be speedy and be responsive. While good presentation is important, if the application is slow or it takes a few too many button presses to register then this will result in your hard work being largely unused.

Another factor for your consideration must be battery life. If the battery is drained quickly by your program people will let you know about it. It also helps if it can be used in an offline capacity as you may be an area with bad reception.

One aspect to look at is the size of your files. A good rule of thumb is 2MB for a game or 1.5MB for social networking. These are probably the two things that get people talking. In the case of the former, a game is an excellent form of viral marketing that catches the attention.

With regard to social networking, this is a good way of getting your stuff out there. You can encourage people to look at your application and pass it on to their friends and followers. The important thing though is to take a balanced approach to promotion. If you do not do it enough, people will not be aware of what you are promoting. If you do it too much, people mark you as spam and a nuisance. There is also the danger that you will get reported and removed from the network, so you should take a sensible approach.