As soon as I received my invite today, I logged into Beta Zone just to watch the site crash. I quickly saw I was sharing the pain with many other Beta Zone members, as my twitter timeline was full of similar comments. Even when I was able to login to the site, it would eventually send me in a loop back to the login page. This isn’t the first time Beta Zone has sent me in a forever frustrating loop, but I digress. I’ll save the issues with RIM’s shoddy Beta Zone site for another article. About 5 hours later, I was finally able to download App World 2.0. I’ve only used it for a few minutes so far so its too early to do a full review. For now, see App World 2.0′s features via Inside BlackBerry after the jump.

Top 25 Themes and Top 25 Apps

Let’s get started! You’ve asked and we’ve listened – you enjoy your BlackBerry Smartphone themes, but you want to see them listed by themselves. You also asked to see what’s new and what’s been updated recently in BlackBerry App World, and we’re happy to deliver.

In our new “Top 25” screen, you can see the Newest apps, Recently Updated apps, Top 25 Free Apps, Top 25 Paid Apps, and Top 25 Themes. These lists update every 24 hours, and are based on a combination of number of downloads and user ratings.

BlackBerry App World Barcode Scanning

Another cool feature we’re adding is the ability for our developers to use a QR barcode to promote their apps. BlackBerry App World 2.0 will have a new menu option called “Scan a Barcode” – which works just like scanning a barcode for a new contact or group in BlackBerry® Messenger 5.0. Just point the camera of your BlackBerry Smartphone at a QR barcode and the details page for the app you’re scanning pop right up!

More Billing Options

In addition to the ability to purchase apps with a PayPal® account, we’re adding support for two new billing methods to BlackBerry App World. To access these new billing options, you will be able to simply log in and choose ‘Payment Options’ from the menu.

Credit Cards

We know that many of you will be happy to hear that you will soon be able to use a major credit card (cards vary by region) to purchase apps. If BlackBerry App World credit card payments are available in your country, you’ll see the new “Credit Card” option where you can securely enter and save your credit card information for all your App World purchases.

Carrier Billing

We’re also excited to tell you that we’re working on integrated billing with various carriers to enable carrier billing as a payment option in BlackBerry App World.

PayPal

If you prefer the simplicity of paying with PayPal, then just choose the PayPal option. You’ll be asked for your PayPal account email and password once, and then all your purchases can be made using your PayPal account.

Introducing BlackBerry® ID

We’re also proud to introduce the new BlackBerry® ID, a device-independent user identification. With your BlackBerry® ID, you can easily download and purchase apps, then manage them in My World. Also, if you ever need to switch to a new BlackBerry Smartphone, logging in with your BlackBerry ID will bring all your apps to your new BlackBerry smartphone so you can always have the apps you need, when you need them!

[Via: InsideBlackBerry]