As it moves closer to the launch of its BlackBerry 10 platform, Research In Motion recently released the “gold” build of the BlackBerry 10 software development kit.
The “gold” build includes all of the final tools, components, and APIs that will enable developers to create integrated, social applications for BlackBerry 10.
Native C/C++ and Qt developers can use BlackBerry Cascades to build applications that offer deeper integration with core feature elements, such as BlackBerry Hub, than any other mobile platform today, RIM said. HTML5 developers can use BlackBerry WebWorks to create compelling and rich Web applications for BlackBerry 10 devices that deliver native-like performance and take advantage of core integration as well. BlackBerry 10 tools are also available for building with Adobe AIR and porting Android applications to the platform, the company said.
With the BlackBerry 10 launch event less than two months away – slated for Jan. 30, 2013 — developer interest and excitement for the BlackBerry 10 platform continues to grow, RIM officials said. Top application developers have already committed to BlackBerry 10 in key categories including games, multimedia, business and productivity, published media and social networking.
For example, at the recent BlackBerry Jam Asia conference in Bangkok, RIM showcased more than 70 new top application partners and demonstrated several on the BlackBerry 10 platform including apps from Fox Sports, MTV India, Picstory, Viki Video, and Hot Remit.
Over the past few months, developer outlook toward RIM has improved broadly and significantly. According to a recent Pivot Point Research survey commissioned by RIM, 58 percent of developers surveyed said they would recommend BlackBerry 10 as a development platform, a 123 percent increase from May to October, 2012. The survey also found a steady increase in satisfaction with the BlackBerry 10 platform among developers, growing by 56 percent over the same period.
“We have been actively engaged with developers from around the world for many months and as we near the final weeks toward the launch of BlackBerry 10, the growing dedication and commitment we see from our developer community is truly outstanding,” said Alec Saunders, vice president of developer relations and ecosystems at RIM, in a statement. “The focus we have had on building a true developer ecosystem and community is clearly working.”
“Working with BlackBerry 10, we have realized the true potential of a platform that offers maximum flexibility for building apps quickly without compromising on performance,” said Jay Krishna, director of solutions and operations at Digitsecure, in a statement. “The seamlessness with which one can do deep integration with device features and also use web technologies is simply amazing. BlackBerry 10, along with the security and connectivity of the BlackBerry platform, offers immense scope for developing consumer and business applications. We are quite excited about the potential that has for applications in the mobile payments space.”
Research In Motion Brings Developers Closer to BlackBerry 10
“We are seeing continued excitement for the BlackBerry 10 platform from leading brands across the globe,” said Martyn Mallick, vice president of global alliances and business development at RIM, in a statement. “Partners want the recognition and advantage of being first-to-market on this exciting new platform. Developers see that BlackBerry 10 is designed to make it very easy to create compelling customer experiences that can lead to high adoption and engagement.”
The BlackBerry 10 platform enables developers to create visually attractive applications, with features such as easy sharing, integration with social networks, and the ability to seamlessly flow between apps, RIM said.
“In partnering with RIM, Gameloft has received very solid support as they worked hand-in-hand with our development teams to get them the tools needed to bring our growing lineup of high-quality titles to BlackBerry 10,” said Baudouin Corman, vice president of publishing for the Americas at mobile game provider Gameloft, in a statement. “We are very excited about the potential of our HD games on this new platform, and we plan on bringing some of the best gaming experiences currently available on mobile to BlackBerry 10 customers.”
“We are excited to offer PressReader on the new BlackBerry 10 when it debuts early in 2013,” said Alex Kroogman, CEO of NewspaperDirect, in a statement. “With PressReader, BlackBerry 10 customers will enjoy access to over 2,300 full-content digital newspapers and magazines in a highly engaging and immersive reading experience with just one subscription.”
Earlier this month, RIM announced the BlackBerry 10 Ready Program for enterprise customers. The program is designed to address the needs of BlackBerry enterprise customers as they prepare their environments for the launch of BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, RIM’s new multiplatform enterprise mobility management solution.
The program will be introduced in a phased approach with four components. Two of the components — The BlackBerry 10 Ready Offer and the BlackBerry 10 Ready Webcast Series – became available on Dec. 10. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server License Trade Up and BlackBerry 10 Readiness Services components will be available ahead of the global BlackBerry 10 launch on January 30, 2013.
“We remain committed to our enterprise customers and want to provide them with a head start on understanding the power of BlackBerry 10 and preparing their existing environments for the new mobile computing platform,” said Bryan Lee, senior director of the Enterprise business at RIM, in a statement. “The BlackBerry 10 Ready Program gives customers access to a variety of services, information, tools, and special offers to help ease their transition to BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.”
Go here for more information on the BlackBerry 10 Ready program.
Research In Motion Brings Developers Closer to BlackBerry 10
BlackBerry 10 will offer a large catalog of the leading applications from across the globe and across all categories, including Games, Productivity, Social, Lifestyle and Leisure, Multimedia and Published Content, in addition to the applications designed for business and enterprise use.
The BlackBerry 10 platform has achieved Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) compliance — FIPS 140-2 certification, which means that government agencies will be able to deploy BlackBerry 10 smartphones and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 as soon as it is available. This marks the first time BlackBerry products have been certified ahead of their launch, RIM said. In addition, RIM recently announced that BlackBerry 10 smartphones have now entered more than 50 carrier labs with many more entries expected.
At the end of November, RIM and Appcelerator, which provides a mobile development platform, announced a partnership to offer mobile developers a number of incentives, including financial rewards, free services, and testing hardware, for creating BlackBerry 10 applications.
The incentives are open to Appcelerator’s ecosystem of over 390,000 developers, who have 50,000 applications deployed worldwide on over 90 million devices. Through the use of Appcelerator Titanium’s cross platform capabilities, developers and enterprises will be able to build and port their applications to BlackBerry 10, and Appcelerator indicates that developers should have the ability to reuse between 65 percent and 90 of their code as they port from other leading platforms to BlackBerry 10. Titanium for BlackBerry 10 shipped on December 7 in a prerelease version.
Incentive programs for developers will include that the first 1,000 developers will receive a BlackBerry Dev Alpha test device, once their application has been submitted for review on the BlackBerry World storefront. Also, up to 10,000 developers will receive one year of free Appcelerator Cloud Services (ACS) and Analytics, once their app is approved and available for sale on BlackBerry World. And applications that have been submitted can qualify for the BlackBerry 10k Developer Commitment.
Appcelerator Cloud Services (ACS) offers a fast and easy way to build connected apps with services including status updates, photo storage and social integration.
“As Appcelerator announced at the BlackBerry World 2012 conference in May, we are committed to delivering outstanding support for BlackBerry10 within Titanium,” said Sandeep Johri, chief operating officer at Appcelerator, in a statement. “In our quest to deliver native apps across all the major platforms, we are excited to roll out compelling incentives for Appcelerator’s mobile developer community, including the tools for building and bringing apps to BlackBerry 10.”
Meanwhile, RIM recently commissioned an independent survey intended to track developer sentiment, intent and conversations around writing apps for various mobile platforms, including BlackBerry 10. The results show positive momentum, in that developer attitude towards RIM has improved broadly and significantly. Indeed, 42 percent of developers surveyed said they would definitely recommend RIM as a development platform, a 25 percent over the previous poll.