Developers can now submit apps and become eligible for a free BlackBerry PlayBook
Waterloo, ON –Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today opened the BlackBerry App World™ vendor portal to begin accepting BlackBerry® PlayBook™ apps from developers. In addition, RIM outlined how developers can become eligible to get a free BlackBerry PlayBook if their app is submitted and approved for distribution on BlackBerry App World prior to the launch of BlackBerry PlayBook in North America*.
“Interest and momentum behind the BlackBerry PlayBook continues to build and we are thrilled with the positive response from both the developer community and our customers. With its groundbreaking performance and robust support for industry standard development tools, the BlackBerry PlayBook provides an exceptional platform that appeals to a wide range of mobile app developers, including Adobe® AIR® and Flash® developers, HTML web developers, corporate developers and application hobbyists,” said Tyler Lessard, VP Global Alliances & Developer Relations at Research In Motion. “We are very pleased to be working with developers in advance of the product launch and the opening of BlackBerry App World to accept BlackBerry PlayBook apps is an important next step.”
BlackBerry PlayBook App Development
RIM also recently released an update to the Beta version of the BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR. The update now supports Flash Builder 4.5 (Burrito/Flex Mobile) with plug-ins that work with either Flash Builder 4.0 or the pre-release version of Flash Builder Burrito. Support for Flash Builder Burrito adds drag and drop capabilities, making it even easier and faster for developers to build applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook. The latest Beta of the SDK also supports Windows in 64-bit and includes a simulator for Linux.
What Developers Are Saying
“Developing for the PlayBook has been a pleasurable experience. The APIs are straightforward and optimised for the device and the environment is cross-platform,” said Jerome Carty, President, JCX Systems, Inc. “The thing that impresses me the most is the potential for the hardware. The gestures for the PlayBook make the device feel as though you have unlimited surface area since they extend beyond the screen to the bezel. This will make for a fun and unique experience for developers and end-users.”
“The BlackBerry PlayBook has some stellar hardware specs which will support Adobe AIR quite well,” said Randy Troppman, Founder, RunningMap. “I recompiled several of my AIR apps with the BlackBerry Tablet OS AIR SDK and they worked the first time. Unmodified. Piece of cake. Now I just need to take advantage of the BlackBerry PlayBook’s touch screen to take these apps to the next level.”
“Model Metrics is thrilled to be working to deliver scalable enterprise applications on the BlackBerry PlayBook,” said John Barnes, CTO, Model Metrics, Inc. “The ease of development and deployment sets a new bar for the tablet market and Model Metrics is looking forward to offering the 2GO platform for the BlackBerry PlayBook.”
See more examples and comments at http://devblog.blackberry.com/2010/10/blackberry-playbook-apps/.
Free BlackBerry PlayBook Offer
Registered developers who submit a qualifying BlackBerry PlayBook app that is accepted into BlackBerry App World prior to the initial product launch in North America will receive a free BlackBerry PlayBook, subject to certain terms and conditions. Although developers are encouraged to submit multiple apps, there is a limit of one free BlackBerry PlayBook per registered developer in BlackBerry App World. For additional information on the offer, including the Terms and Conditions, visit www.blackberry.com/developers/blackberryplaybookoffer.
Useful Links
BlackBerry Tablet OS Development (http://www.blackberry.com/developers/tabletos)
o Getting Started Guide for Windows and Maco
o Development Guide
o Developer Tools for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux
BlackBerry Tablet OS Webcast Series
o Get Building for the BlackBerry PlayBook (http://webcast.streamlogics.com/audience/index.asp?eventid=23141115?IID=DEVWEB1101)
o My First App for the BlackBerry PlayBook (http://webcast.streamlogics.com/audience/index.asp?eventid=35207765?IID=DEVCAST21109 )
o Device Integration for apps on the BlackBerry PlayBook ( http://webcast.streamlogics.com/audience/index.asp?eventid=13758486?IID=DEVWEBC31117 )
o User Interface Guidelines (http://webcast.streamlogics.com/audience/index.asp?eventid=15766542 )
o Coming Soon! BlackBerry App World submissions (check http://devblog.blackberry.com for details in the next few days)
Adobe Tablet OS Development Page (http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flash/blackberrytabos/ )
BlackBerry Developer Blog (http://devblog.blackberry.com )
Twitter (www.twitter.com/blackberrydev @BlackBerryDev)
BlackBerry Support Forums (http://supportforums.blackberry.com/t5/Tablet-OS-SDK-for-Adobe-AIR/bd-p/tablet )