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41 Comments

Free BlackBerry PlayBooks for DevCon Attendees!

By Adam Zeis on 3 Oct 2011 01:35 pm
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If you wanted a little more incentive to head to BlackBerry DevCon Americas in San Francisco in two weeks, how about this: every attendee will be receiving a brand new 16GB BlackBerry PlayBook. RIM has always given away goodies at conferences but typically nothing this big. This is the second time RIM is dishing out the PlayBooks as this year at BlackBerry World we were all a bit surprised to find out we'd be receiving a BlackBerry PlayBook in lieu of the usual sweatshirt, jacket or the like. I guess RIM wants to draw in the crowd for DevCon so they're dropping the ball ahead of time on this one and letting everyone know just what their goodie bag will hold. If you haven't yet registered for BlackBerry DevCon Americas and are looking to attend, hit the link below to register.

Register now for BlackBerry DevCon Americas

Topics: DevCon News & Rumors

BlackBerry Partners Fund announces BlackBerry Developer Challenge "Adobe Flash/AIR" winners Previous
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Adam Zeis Adam Zeis 3114 (articles) 2800 (forum posts)
41 comments

adrenaline_x

Cool

TheWait_IsOver

Does this mean 2 free PlayBooks for the winner of the Super Fan Boy/Girl Contest??? 1 PB for winning the contest + 1 PB which is included with the pass for the conference?
...hmm? and 1 PlayBook for the guest of the winner of the contest, which is also provided with a pass to the conference??
THAT WOULD BE 3 FREE PLAYBOOKS FOR THE WINNER!!! Yes? No?

shabbs

Well, what else are they gonna do with all that surplus inventory. Heh heh. Hey-O!

QuIcKsIlV3r

damn if only I had the money to go and the money to actually be there lol

ifarlow

Very tempting, especially at the student rate. Hm...

ryanlrobinson

Exactly. Even if you did nothing else, at the student rate you could get a PlayBook at $200. Of course you'd do the rest, too, but that alone makes it a solid deal. If I could afford the flight and hotel I would be all over this.

glinc

Well, RIM has to somehow move 800,000 units sitting in the warehouse right? lol

Thunderbuck

Well, yeah, as cynical as your comment is, there's some truth to it. Kind of along the old saying of making a virtue of necessity.

Now, this is on TOP of the free PB offered to devs who had apps completed and vetted by the launch date, so many devs alreay HAVE one.

Even so, it's a nice little tchochke to give out. If my passport weren't expiring that week I'd be giving it some thought...

Briancory

Those lucky attendees :)

TheMarco

I was kind of hoping for a QNX dev phone but with the amount of unsold Playbooks this isn't really a surprise. And since it's the same OS I suppose developers can get started on a Playbook just as well as on a yet-to-be-released QNX phone.

Would be really nice if these come preloaded with Tablet OS 2.0!

Bob G

Anything that adds more incentive for developers to make apps for BlackBerry is a step forward IMHO.

Kingkracker

Oh, sweet!! I wish I could go!!! Lucky attendees! All the conferences I go to dish out reusable shopping bags :)

Kiddo2050

Is this an early sign that managerial changes are working?I wonder if RIM had to vet this with their lawyers first. ;-)

ChrisInSD

Nice way to quash rumors that PlayBook is being sent to the dustbin of tablet history--developers have just been armed with free ones to incentivize app creation. OS 2.0 should be a nice update. Probably too late to make the thing a success tho :(

Chavez78

I hope they pre loaded OS 2 for them.

thepinkcurve

To bad that I don't live in america :/

JR A

Do you have to register for the whole event to get the PB? I noticed they have a "Tuesday Pass" that's only $99. Do you still get the PB if you just go to the Tuesday session?

gameson

If you are local only...

The conference starts on Oct 18, Tues, and the registration expires on Oct 18, Tues as well.

I would just show up on that day, then ask if I buy the Tues pass, I would get the PB. If you are, then you can register online right away since they provide free WIFI (assuming if they won't let you buy the ticket on the spot).

That's what I am gonna do...

You can also call and ask, but then it can be bait and switch over the phone, that means they can just say yes to get you to buy the ticket then when u arrive, u get nothing.

Abrante

RIM is thinking clearly with that strategy: At this point, the key is to get as much PB's in the hands of reputable individuals that will in turn talk about it (advertising) and will lead to increased sales in the long run due to the justification of the price (discounted or retail). Yesterday I did the most basic thing on the PB (record a video while writing notes on Word2Go, it left me with my mouth open due to the ability to do both without a hiccup and the placement of the mic (I barely heard the key clicking sound during playback)

The Playbook is great, the non-believers don't own one because they never tried one!

frankyblike

hmmmm i can do the 99$ student rate.............would that give me a free pb?

TeaBoy

i thought its 199$..

TheWait_IsOver

Do the Tuesday Pass for $99 and get a PlayBook, the Student Pass is $199.
**I sent an email to the DevCon Team. They confirmed that a PlayBook will be included with a Tuesday Pass. You must register and pay online, then be onsite in attendance in order to receive it.

ptpete

Has anyone confirmed that a Tuesday pass holder will get a playbook?

TheWait_IsOver

I sent an email to the DevCon Team. They confirmed that a PlayBook will be included with a Tuesday Pass. You must register and pay online, then be onsite in attendance in order to receive it.

snoozininsomniac

i'd like to know about the tuesday thing as well. im near SF

Majestic Lion

~$311 per night for a hotel room? lulz.

TeaBoy

Tuesdays pass doesn't seem to have gift

BlackBerry DevCon Americas Tuesday Pass

Valid only for Tuesday October 18, 2011
Access to the BlackBerry DevCon Americas General Session
Admission to Expert areas during open hours
Admission to the BlackBerry DevCon Americas Party
Admission to the Mobility Pavilion during open hours
Breakfast, lunch, and breaks on Tuesday
Complimentary access to Conference Wi-Fi® internet

Restrictions
Attendees with a Tuesday Pass will not have access to Breakout Sessions

TheWait_IsOver

*these are the details for the Conference Full Pass October 18-20, 2011:

Access to the BlackBerry DevCon Americas General Session
Access to Breakout Sessions
Admission to Expert areas during open hours
Admission to the BlackBerry DevCon Americas Party
Admission to the Mobility Pavilion during open hours
Breakfast, lunch, and breaks, Tuesday — Thursday
Complimentary access to Conference Wi-Fi® internet
Access to BlackBerry DevCon On-Demand, the online portal for conference content and sponsor information, until the start of the 2012 conference
Registration gift upon check-in onsite

*the free PlayBook is not mentioned in the Full Pass details, yet we know they will be given...

*gotta research further to find out if PBs will be given for that Tuesday Pass.....???

ekafara

Since they want to be giving out PlayBooks I say they give CrackBerry.com a few hundred to give out. :)

HTC_Droid_EvO

They can't sell them, might as well give them away BWAHAHA

:)

rickkel

They needed to give the PlayBook out to key people like this (well not you guys just looking for a cheap PlayBook) a long time ago.

They needed to give twenty of them to the IT departments of every Fortune 500 corporation with a detailed sheet about how the Bridge works and how secure the product is.

Here at Wells Fargo nearly everyone with a BlackBerry (a lot of folks) wanted a PlayBook, but the IT department issued their normal stupid "we're checking it out for security issues..." and wouldn't allow the BlackBerry Bridge to be downloaded. So guess what? Those that did buy one took them back and those who see it on my desk have no idea what it is.

Cantime77

Rim is in such deep trouble with their stagnation and hording.
They should have been givein away their product to the devleopers from the get go.
My company has about 2k people and I don't know anyone who has a playbook... this is pathetic.
Rim you idiots cut the price to $99 and sell it at that price until you sell 1 million units. No one is going to seriously develop for you until they see some users.

angeloworx

*Registration gift upon check-in onsite

Is that the PB giveaway NOT included in the Tuesday pass? Seriously, someone end this madness and tell us. Thank you.

TheWait_IsOver

I sent an email to the DevCon Team. They confirmed that a PlayBook will be included with a Tuesday Pass. You must register and pay online, then be onsite in attendance in order to receive it.

snoozininsomniac

screenshot of said email+response?

TheWait_IsOver

...I'm on my BB, I don't know about posting images thru mobileCB n I don't have a desktop, so...BBM me if you want, I'll show you the email from the DevCon Team...

TeaBoy

Yeah its true.. Free Blackberry PB for tuesday also..
Do you have to be a devloper to attend? since i just want to get the PB @ 99$ only.

Xacradin

too bad im not in SF... can someone get me that playbook ;) ill pay for the tuesday pass... pretty please? (mypin: 2820c1a5)

Yamcha

Anyone know If a Devcon Event Stream will be available ?

dannymac77

Updated their FAQ, probably got tired of all the people emailing them.

Attendees at the conference will receive a 16GB BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet to help kick start the development of their next app!

Q.
Who is eligible for the complimentary BlackBerry PlayBook tablet?
A.
Registered attendees with a Full Conference Pass, a Student Pass, a Faculty Pass and a Tuesday Pass are eligible for the offer. Registrants must be paid in full and checked-in onsite in order to receive their device.

This offer is not available for Companion Pass holders, event staff and Research In Motion® (RIM®) employees.

http://www.blackberrydevcon.com/americas/registration/faqs/giveaway