RIM BlackBerry 10: the first SDK available

Research in Motion has released their development environment for their future BlackBerry 10 platform by providing a smartphone dedicated to developers.

The BlackBerry World developer’s conference taking place in Orlando (Florida) has been used by Research in Motion to implement the foundations of their future BlackBerry 10 system, expected for release in the second half of 2012 with a new generation of BlackBerry smartphones.

While awaiting the public’s reaction, it is the developers that the manufacturer has to attract. The show currently taking place is particularly important as it sees the release of the first development tools for the platform.

Thorsten Heins, CEO at RIM, is keeping quiet about when BlackBerry 10 and the first handsets will be released but, as promised, has unveiled the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha, a special smartphone offered to developers present at the conference which will allow them to get a clear view of what the platform will look like so that they can develop compatible applications.


Development tools are available
RIM has announced that they have provided the first SDK for BlackBerry 10, available for download as a beta version, to assist in the creation of native and HTML5 applications. This range of tools, which integrates BlackBerry Cascades for the creation of interfaces,  makes it easier to develop applications before the platforms launch so that a catalogue of applications are available with the release of the new OS.

The mobile applications will also run on future BlackBerry smartphones and the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet as its QNX OS is one of foundations on which BlackBerry 10 is built. The Dev Alpha smartphone, a model on which future releases will be built, comes with a 4.2" 1280 x 768 pixel screen, 16 GB of storage space, 1 GB of RAM and a micro HDMI port.

To push developers towards their platform, RIM is offering an initial 10 000 dollars generated by applications to support future developments. To access this, applications will need to be certified and generate less than 1000 dollars in earnings. Above this, RIM will offer compensation up to this limit, guaranteeing developers guaranteed earnings.