I recently attended the BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour in London and I have nothing to say other than I am uber (does anyone use that word anymore?!) excited about the upcoming BlackBerry 10. The opening video featuring Alec Saunders as the lead singer resembled a bunch of Dads in a garage, however the lyrics hit the nail on the head! Without slandering their competition completely, they highlighted the potential of the currently limited BlackBerry App World. The song also stuck in my head, and I found myself trying to find it on the internet to share it, the ultimate marketing tool!
Before I go on to share the brilliant and innovative technology that is to become the BlackBerry 10, I am going to quickly explain the reason behind the title of this post. Earlier this year, in a ploy to get more developers on board, RIM were handing out free Playbooks to any developer that submitted an app into Blackberry’s App World within a short period of time. This was the first sign of their generosity, then they extended the deadline so more developers were in with a chance. This was the second sign. Then the Playbook arrived and it was a fully functioning 16gb model, along with the charger, USB lead, screen protector and even a neoprene case. Maybe I’m easily pleased but I thought it was brilliant!
The third sign of the company’s generosity came when they hosted a free BlackBerry 10 Jam in USA and due to the interest worldwide, they decided to take the tour on the road. Following that, they also promised a selected number of developers the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha which is a nearly finished prototype of the upcoming phone. You can’t make calls from it, but you can deploy and tests your apps onto it (kinda why they gave them out!) As if that wasn’t enough, they also promised developers that if they can generate $1000 from their app, then RIM will give these developers $10000. Moreover, at the BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour, they gave ten individuals the opportunity to market their apps and the audience voted for the best one. The winner of these so called ‘Lightning Pitches’ received a BlackBerry Playbook, a Dev Alpha device, £322.69 (or $500!) and 30 minutes with a big shot!
Now whether this is all one big marketing ploy, or a be seduction ploy for developers, I do not know. What I do know though, is that RIM are definitely pushing the boat out on this one! I think it is make or break time and this may just be what RIM called the ‘Game Changer’. I’m not a person that can be brought off easily, but the positive buzz and upcoming hype has certainly made me want to jump aboard. I look forward to submitting some apps and seeing the reaction to the BlackBerry 10.