Every once in a while, when you click on BlackBerry App World, you get a prompt to update the software. So, like the good BlackBerry owner you are, you waste no time in clicking OK to download and then install the update, despite not really knowing what it’s all about. And then you go through the hassle of rebooting your device. After all that, you go back to App World and start to browse through applications, only to see them listed in Euros rather than American dollars. That’s probably not what you expected. Thankfully, the fix is pretty easy.
I learned about the problem from BerryReporter, but ran through the update myself just to be sure. I really don’t use App World that often, so it was a pain to go through the download, install, and reboot just to see if the currency had changed. Also, scrolling through the T&C, where the “B” shortcut doesn’t work, was a bit of a pain. But when I finally got to the app listings, I got my listing in US dollars.
So what gives? Why did I get US dollars, while many users, including Justin from BerryReporter and chrisy520 on the CB forums, got Euros? It appears — though I cannot confirm this — that RIM pulled that update. Justin says it happened to him on 1.1.0.19, but when I downloaded my update on Sunday, it was 1.1.0.15. If this is the case, it’s good of RIM to recognize the problem quick and pull back the update.
If you have already downloaded 1.1.0.19, there’s a quick fix to get you back on US dollars. Go to purchase an app (not a free one). You’ll see the price in Euros, but click on it anyway. Once you go through the motions, you’ll enter in your PayPal login and see a final confirmation. That’s when you’ll see the fix. App World will recognize the US dollars in your PayPal account and switch you back to that currency, as you see in the screen shot.
I’m not sure what updates 1.1.0.19 was supposed to bring, and I’m not sure if they’re going to re-release that update. It seems to be that way with many App World updates. We saw some noticeable upgrades in 1.1, but the subsequent updates haven’t brought much. App World still has its issues, and problems like the default Euro doesn’t help matters — though RIM did mitigate the situation by pulling the update quickly.
