BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) has said it will pay US$100 for any app developed that is compatible with its yet-to-launch BlackBerry 10 phone at the ‘BlackBerry 10 Last Chance Port-A-Thon’.
The hackathon, which begins today at 1600GMT and takes 36 hours, will allow developers to use any development tools, including the automated BlackBerry App generator where developers simply have to enter an RSS feed and a logo to create a basic app.
Developers who submit more than five apps will also have a chance of winning one of the 250 Dev Alpha BlackBerry 10 devices. RIM said developers of the apps will get up to a total of $500,000 available.
In the last Port-A-Thon, there were an additional 15,000 additional app submissions after the event overran by 90 minutes.
RIM, which is to launch its much-awaited BlackBerry 10 on January 10, has found itself in murky waters with some analysts saying the company’s closed policy and refusal to open up its operating system for developers had left its platform without many apps compared to its competitors Android and the iOS.
BlackBerry lost one million users in the last quarter and is betting big on its BlackBerry 10 device to recoup lost territory.
To developers however, this will be a golden opportunity for cooperation with the secretive operating system and a chance to develop a relationship.
