It would seem that The Weather Channel is none too fond of people who use BlackBerrys.
I am a self-admitted weather junkie. I have no clue why I obsess over it so much seeing as I work inside all of the time, but I still always want to know what the forecast is going to be. Back in the days before mobile phone applications and desktop alerts, I would have my TV tuned to The Weather Channel for a good amount of the day. Who cared if it was just the same forecast over and over, something might change, and I wanted to know!
As the channel became more and more “lets watch tornadoes tear up a town!”, I started using tools like their free 1-ClickWeather add-on for the Firefox browser and free desktop application to keep up with what was going on. When the Apple application store launched, one of the first things I downloaded to my iPod Touch was their free weather application (iTunes link) so I could keep up with it from a mobile device.
With the recent release of the BlackBerry App store, I was happy to see that The Weather Channel hadn’t let me down, and there was an application there for my BlackBerry 8830. Finally, I could check the weather any time, any where, and only for $29.99!
… say what?
Lets review, shall we?
Desktop application – $FREE
Firefox plugin – $FREE
iPhone/iPod Touch application – $FREE
BlackBerry application – $29.99
Is it just me, or does anyone else see a problem with this picture? Is there some mysterious BlackBerry application development tax that I am unaware of? I can not, for the life of me, fathom why they would not only be charging for this app, but charging such a ridiculously high price for it. Do they hate the BlackBerry? Do they think we are somehow made of money? I have no clue what their think could be, but I can promise you I won’t be downloading it.
If anyone know why this is, or even has a theory, please tell me!
