During an event that could prove crucial to the company’s long term survival, Research in Motion shared information about BlackBerry 10 with developers and disclosed some partners who already have endorsed the new platform slated for release by the end of the year.
To demonstrate its faith in BlackBerry 10, RIM is guaranteeing that apps for it will earn $10,000 within the first year of their appearance in BlackBerry’s App World store. Alec Saunders, vice president of Developer Relations for Research in Motion, made the promise during his presentation. The qualifications are minimal: the app must be certified by BlackBerry, and it has to earn a minimum of $1,000 before it’s covered under the guarantee.
Thousands of developers were given an alpha version of the device – so early that they didn’t even have a keyboard yet – and a beta version of the developer toolkit so they could get up to speed. One element of this toolkit is the BlackBerry 10 WebWorks SDK, which RIM said would allow developers to create “native-like apps” using common web programming technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript.
Whatever the developers think of it, the stock market remained unimpressed. Check the latest share price here [RIMM].
Several companies issued statements of support for BlackBerry 10, as follows.
Endomondo co-founder Mette Lykke: “BlackBerry’s influence remains a worldwide phenomenon, which matches Endomondo’s reach. With 8 million users around the globe, including many BlackBerry devotees, Endomondo recognizes the value of supplying BlackBerry 10 users with access to the capabilities of the mobile Endomondo Sports Tracker and social fitness network.”
Gameloft vice president of OEM Ludovic Blondel: “The official launch of BlackBerry 10 comes with great anticipation from Gameloft. We are very excited to be able to provide BlackBerry 10 users with high-quality gaming experiences for every type of player. We already have a total of 11 titles including our popular physics-based puzzle game Shark Dash and more hard-core games such as N.O.V.A. 3: Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance being optimized for the platform.”
Mippin CEO Nick Barnett: “With the launch of BlackBerry 10, RIM is ramping up its platform for app developers. We’re very excited about the potential opportunities with BlackBerry 10 and we are confident it will deliver a content experience that leads the way for mobile.”
Occipital co-founder and CEO: “With 360 Panorama, Occipital is pushing the boundaries of photography on mobile devices. When evaluating the technical viability of a platform, we consider three areas: camera, sensors, and processing and graphics capabilities. BlackBerry 10 met and often exceeded our expectations for each of these areas. Through the combination of our computer vision technology and the advances of the BlackBerry 10 platform, 360 Panorama delivers a magical user experience. We are very excited to bring 360 Panorama to users of the new and dramatically improved BlackBerry 10 platform.”
Ryan Marquis, PixelMags founder and chief operating officer: “We knew from the start that RIM was on to something really special with their new BlackBerry 10 platform. To have been invited to participate in the app development process from the very start was a labor of love for all of us at PixelMags. We will be able to give BlackBerry 10 users an amazing native-built application where consumers can read any magazine, anytime, within the application, for one low monthly fee.”
Poynt Corp. CEO Andrew Osis: “As a longtime developer for the BlackBerry platform, Poynt is excited to see RIM continue to innovate with the BlackBerry 10 platform. The Cascades framework and QML support will allow our team to innovate the Poynt platform on BlackBerry 10 devices by continuing to create compelling and engaging user experiences.”
Truphone head of Labs and Mobile Applications Adam Linford: “RIM has got it right with the BlackBerry 10 platform. They have really streamlined the app-development process. The platform’s support for open-source components flattens the learning curve enabling us to build a new application quickly and cost-effectively and have it ready to go when the first BlackBerry 10 devices debut.”
Wikitude CEO Martin Herdina: “BlackBerry 10 is a huge milestone for the BlackBerry platform evolution and our early access to the platform has convinced us to be part of this promising transition. We are really excited by the possibilities provided to us by the BlackBerry10 platform to bring immersive and interactive Augmented Reality experiences to the Blackberry community.”
Related links:
Research in Motion – press release
Information Week – RIM BlackBerry 10 Devs Get $10,000 Promise
Reuters – RIM BlackBerry 10 prototype fails to wow investors
New York Times – New BlackBerry Prototype Is Given to Developers
Wired’s Gadget Lab – RIM Signals Shift to Virtual Keyboards As It Bets Everything on BlackBerry 10
Your app has to make $1,000 before it can become eligible for the $10,000.Might some developers to simply post existing apps since assets won’t necessarily have to be redone and it’ll simply be case of coding using the BB SDK.