Not long into the BlackBerry Jam Europe opening session and BlackBerry is dropping lots of good things on us. First, it was announced that the BlackBerry 10.1 SDK is now available, which allows for building BlackBerry Q10 applications. Also, the BlackBerry World vendor portal for the BlackBerry Q10 is now open. Next, BlackBerry announced updates to the Built for BlackBerry program including a top Built for BlackBerry list on BlackBerry World to increase discoverability and marketability of Built for BlackBerry apps. Alec Saunders also showed off the Limited Edition BlackBerry Z10 in red, which will be available for developers only.
Catch the full press release after the break!
PRESS RELEASE
BlackBerry Jam Europe, fully booked for the second year, follows closely on the heels of the extremely successful global launch of the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10 smartphones on January 30, which highlighted the support and commitment by developers for the BlackBerry 10 platform with 70,000 apps at launch - more apps than any first-generation mobile platform. In addition, a recent study by Vision Mobile found that 38% of developers identified BlackBerry as their lead platform*.
"I have never seen as much excitement and enthusiasm for a platform that compares to what we are seeing with BlackBerry 10. BlackBerry Jam Europe is a great time for us to thank the developer community for their continued loyalty, support and amazing enthusiasm," said Alec Saunders, Vice President of Ecosystem and Developer Relations. "We want to keep that momentum going and are today announcing updates to the toolkit, our reward and incentive programs, and more. We are listening to our community and are evolving our programs to help them achieve success on BlackBerry 10 and be recognized for their efforts and accomplishments."
BlackBerry 10.1 SDK
The updated tools for building or tweaking applications for the BlackBerry 10 smartphone, which features a physical QWERTY keyboard, are now available. The tools will allow developers to optimize their apps to run on the smartphone's 720 x 720 display. The toolkit also contains a new BlackBerry Q10 simulator. Apps built natively for BlackBerry 10 using the Cascades™ framework have built-in functionality that automatically adjusts to various screen specifications. More information on this update is available here: http://devblog.blackberry.com/2013/02/blackberry-q10-sdk-update/
Built for BlackBerry App Program
BlackBerry continues to support its developer community and reward the effort and work for building quality applications through the Built for BlackBerry app program. At BlackBerry Jam Europe, BlackBerry announced updates to the Built for BlackBerry program including a top Built for BlackBerry list on BlackBerry World to increase discoverability and marketability of Built for BlackBerry apps. Eventually, the only apps that will be featured on the BlackBerry World carousel will be Built for BlackBerry apps. For more information see here: https://developer.blackberry.com/builtforblackberry/documentation/overview.html
Limited Edition BlackBerry 10 Smartphones
BlackBerry also announced that 12,000 Limited Edition smartphones are being built exclusively for developers who created apps in time for launch. Developers who had previously qualified to receive a BlackBerry Dev Alpha A or B testing device, and who have an application submitted on BlackBerry World, may apply to swap the testing device unit for the red, limited edition model of the BlackBerry Z10. Details around the terms and conditions can be found here: https://developer.blackberry.com/limitededition/
BlackBerry World Vendor Portal Open for BlackBerry Q10 App Submissions
Developers can now add the BlackBerry Q10 smartphone as a targeted device in the BlackBerry World vendor portal. This will allow developers to have their apps published at the outset, when the BlackBerry Q10 is expected to launch in April this year.
Useful Links
DevZone: http://developer.blackberry.com
DevBlog: http://devblog.blackberry.com
About BlackBerry
A global leader in wireless innovation, BlackBerry® revolutionized the mobile industry when it was introduced in 1999. Today, BlackBerry aims to inspire the success of our millions of customers around the world by continuously pushing the boundaries of mobile experiences. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Research In Motion announced that effective January 30, 2013, the Company would operate around the world under the iconic name BlackBerry. The legal name of the company has not changed, but the Company will do business as BlackBerry until shareholders vote for the official change at the Company's Annual General Meeting later in 2013. Effective Monday, February 4, 2013, the Company commenced trading under its new ticker symbols "BB" on the Toronto Stock Exchange and "BBRY" on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.blackberry.com.
* Vision Mobile 2013 Developer Economics Report (January, 2013).
Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used herein, words such as "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "should", "intend," "believe", and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by Research In Motion Limited (BlackBerry) in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that BlackBerry believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Many factors could cause BlackBerry's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including those described in the "Risk Factors" section of BlackBerry's Annual Information Form, which is included in its Annual Report on Form 40-F (copies of which filings may be obtained at www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov). These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on BlackBerry's forward-looking statements. BlackBerry has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
BlackBerry and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of Research In Motion Limited and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services.
Read more
The latest stats on the BlackBerry 10 app ecosystem
Today during the Jam Asia keynote, we got a lot of numbers thrown at us about the health of the BlackBerry 10 platform. It was a bit hectic trying to initially make heads or tails of everything, but now we've got all of the main stats that were mentioned. 131,700+ apps for BlackBerry 10; total apps in BlackBerry World 256,668 - at same point (7 months) in OS lifecycle, Apple had...
BlackBerry Jam: A developer preview from a developer
Alongside the consumer focused BlackBerry Live Conference is the BlackBerry Jam Americas developer conference. We all expect most of the exciting announcements to happen during the “Live“ side of the conference but there are some sessions that could lead to some interesting insight of the future of BlackBerry 10. So in this “Conference Special Edition” of the Weekend Coder series, I...
BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha C shown off at BlackBerry Jam Europe
The Dev Alpha C has just been shown during the General Session at BlackBerry Jam Europe. Many developers got themselves a Dev Alpha A or B in order to aid in their development to build for the BlackBerry 10 platform. However, it was to build for the BlackBerry Z10 model. With the BlackBerry Q10 coming later this year, developers will want to start building for that model so in comes the...
Can't make it to Amsterdam for BlackBerry Jam? Why not attend the BlackBerry Mini Jam London?
BlackBerry Jam Europe is this week and there lots to look forward to. Plenty of developers are making their way to Amsterdam as well as a couple of Team CrackBerry. However, if you're not able to go to Amsterdam, perhaps you can make it to London for a BlackBerry 10 Mini Jam. The event is brought to you by Skills Matter and is sponsored by BlackBerry. You will be able to get valuable...