BlackBerry closes the app gap

Die-hard fans of the phones with their fixed QWERTY keyboards may have a reason to celebrate.

Die-hard fans of the phones with their fixed QWERTY keyboards may have a reason to celebrate.

And that's because they're about to get access to another 200,000 apps. What's more, they're not just any old apps, they are titles that most consumers have heard of and, more importantly want to use but that have until now been suspicious by their absence on BlackBerry devices.

Thanks to a partnership deal with Amazon announced Wednesday, when the latest update to BlackBerry's operating system (10.3) rolls out this fall, so will access to Amazon's forked Android app store.

That means that BlackBerry users will finally be able to directly download and install things like Pinterest, Groupon, Netflix and Candy Crush Saga.

But as well as useful apps that iPhone and Android handset users take for granted, the agreement with Amazon means access to a host of other digital content including music, TV shows and films.

And, of course, BlackBerry devices will still be able to access the BlackBerry World apps store too.