RIM courts developers with $150 million fund

Apple’s iFund offered up $100 million in venture capitalist cash for developers making the “next big thing” for the iPhone, and now RIM’s doing the same for BlackBerry developers, but with even more dollars on board.

Announcing the new BlackBerry Partners Fund, RIM, RBC and Thompson Reuters said it would “advance the industry” and “foster development,” as well as beat Apple’s iFund by a whopping $50 million.

“The mobile world has evolved well beyond phone calls and simple messaging to require more empowering and liberating solutions that connect people to everything that matters most to them, wherever and whenever they want,” said Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion.

So what new apps will we see? Anything from payment systems to social networking and location-based services apparently. Just the thing to go with that shiny new BlackBerry Bold.

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