Vodacom and RIM (Research In Motion) have announced that Vodacom customers in South Africa are now able to purchase apps on BlackBerry App World, by charging the transaction directly to their contract or prepaid account.

Contract customers can charge in-app purchases to their monthly contract bill, whilst prepaid clients are able to deduct the costs of the applications from their prepaid airtime account. This allows digital goods to be purchased without interrupting the app experience.

Bob Bose, regional managing director at RIM added that RIM is, “delighted that Vodacom’s BlackBerry smartphone customers will be able to purchase apps on BlackBerry App World and conveniently charge them to their regular phone bill from Vodacom. By working closely with Vodacom, we are able to offer customers easier access to tens of thousands of apps ranging from productivity to entertainment.”

“We have worked closely with RIM to make this functionality available for our BlackBerry smartphone customers. Once again, Vodacom is improving the customer experience by unlocking the power of its network and services,” said Prins Mhlanga, managing executive of Vodacom Digital Media.

In related news, RIM recently announced that the BlackBerry 7.1 operating system software update is now available for customers in South Africa, who use BlackBerry Bold 9900, BlackBerry Torch 9810, the Porsche Design P’9981 smartphone, BlackBerry Curve 9360 and the Curve 9380 smartphones.

Vodacom recently moved to kick off a new era in video collaboration, by launching a video collaboration solution that can connect multiple users, whether they employ a PC or mobile device.