WATERLOO – Following months of delay, Research In Motion (RIM) has released the "gold" build for its BlackBerry 10 developer toolkit and on time. With the tools now finalized, developers can now get to work on developing apps that will run on the final BB10 hardware.
The "gold" build includes all of the final tools, components, and APIs that will enable developers to create “integrated, social and beautiful applications” for BlackBerry 10 says RIM.
Native C/C++ and Qt developers can use BlackBerry Cascades to build visually stunning applications that offer deeper integration with core feature elements, such as BlackBerry Hub, than any other mobile platform today claims RIM. 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.
With the BlackBerry 10 launch event less than two months away, 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 over 70 new top application partners and demoed 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% of developers surveyed would recommend BlackBerry 10 as a development platform, a 123% 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% 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, Developer Relations and Ecosystems at Research In Motion. "The focus we have had on building a true developer ecosystem and community is clearly working."
