RIM is seeking to make good on last week's disastrous BlackBerry internet services outage by offering all users $100 (£55) in free, premium applications.

The struggling Canadian smartphone giant endured a torrid time when server crashes caused the loss of BBM, BlackBerry email and other connected services for customers all over the world.

RIM was eventually able to resume normal service last Friday following four days of misery, but many observers feel that the damage may now have been done with Apple's iPhone 4S (toting the BBM-bating iMessage) now on sale.

Among the apps that will become available to all customers shortly, and remain available until the end of the year are SIMS 3, Texas Hold'em Poker, Bejeweled and Shazam Encore.

CEO Mike Lazardis said: "Our global network supports the communications needs of more than 70 million customers. We truly appreciate and value our relationship with our customers. We've worked hard to earn their trust over the past 12 years, and we're committed to providing the high standard of reliability they expect, today and in the future."

While RIM"s offering is a generous one, aimed at keeping you attached to your BlackBerry, it's debatable whether those apps are impressive enough to have any impact on those looking at the App Store as their new home.

Updated: RIM CEO Mike Lazaradiz confirmed at BlackBerry DevCon 2011 that BlackBerry users will be able to obtain their free BlackBerry apps from October 19th 2011.

Link: Inquirer