BlackBerry 10 is here! And we love to show it to our beloved community! Yes! That’s you! We want you to join us on this awesome event! Okay…

So ask yourself:

1) Wanted to know more about BlackBerry 10?
2) Do you have a BlackBerry Z10 and wanted to know more about your it? Join our meet-up!
3) Do you have a BlackBerry Z10 and needed some help setting up apps like instagram?
4) Are you experiencing some software/setup problems in your BlackBerry Z10?
6) Are you interested in buying a BlackBerry Z10 but wanted to try out the device first?
5) Do you want to see the BlackBerry Z10(Red) limited edition?

Then come join us in this meet-up! Register now! This is open to both Developers and Users! Know more about BlackBerry Z10 with our Guest Senior BlackBerry Trainer for Philippines, Waheed AL-Jarallah. Bring your devices and will help you setup apps such as Instagram through our “Application Corner” and get assistance in your “How-To” questions in our “Support Corner”.

Join us as we share with you the power of BlackBerry 10 over pizza and coffee! If you’re ready to join just simply sign up here.

See you there!!!!

Republishing from my personal website. See the original post here.

There’s a lot of reason why you should develop a native app for BlackBerry 10 but personally here’s my top 10 reasons why i develop native apps for BlackBerry 10. I made it short just for you not to get bored.

1.) BlackBerry is committed to its developers

From the start BlackBerry is committed to its developers. Developers asked for a testing device to test their BlackBerry 10 apps and BlackBerry responded by giving them a Dev Alpha devices. While developers are working really hard to bring awesome native apps for BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry in return launched a trade up program by offering a BlackBerry Limited Edition device by trading up the Dev Alpha device. You get the actual BlackBerry Z10 phone in a limited edition color made only for developers.

And since BlackBerry is confident enough that your awesome app will have a knack in BlackBerry World, they launched a 10k commitment program for eligible apps! What does that mean? It means BlackBerry will pay the difference between $1,000 to $10,000 if your app reached more than $1,000 in sales!

Though 10k commitment program is now closed, you can still submit your app for the “Built for BlackBerry” program.

Quoting from the site:

Vendors with apps carrying the Built for BlackBerry designation may have a higher profile to consumers in the following channels:

• BlackBerry World

• Social media

• Digital media

• Direct marketing

• Channel marketing

How cool is that? That’s commitment made right!

2.) Truly an open platform for every developer

Are you a C++ developer? An aspiring Web Developer whose interest is to make mobile apps using HTML5? Do you code in AIR? Well.. Good news! You can still use your existing skills to make apps for BlackBerry 10! You don’t have to get stuck in one programming language to get your dream app rolling!

3.) Need help for your app? There’s BlackBerry Dev Rel or a local developer group near you!

In dire situation, you need someone to help you get your code running. We all need help, and that’s why the BlackBerry Dev Rel (@BlackBerryDev) is here to support you! Just send them a tweet and they shall answer your questions!

It’s awesome to hack with your fellow countrymen! Join a local developer group near you! Here’s a list. If you’re residing from the Philippines, you can join us at PinoyBBDev.com! Follow us on twitter (@PinoyBBDev) !

4.) Get tools and BlackBerry World account, all for free!

Got that killer app idea and wanted to translate it to an actual app? Make it happen with BlackBerry 10! Get started by choosing your platform and download the tools needed to build your app!

And once your app is ready for prime time, you can deploy it to BlackBerry World by getting a BlackBerry World Vendor Account for… FREE! Yes, you read that right. FREE! No annual fees! No One time payment! No joke! Just sign up and get verified and submit your app to BlackBerry World! How awesome is that?

5.) BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 is amazing!

At the time of this writing, BlackBerry announced they have sold 1 Million Z10‘s all over the world in just a couple of months! Plus the dawn of seeding the Dev Alpha C to eligible developers, developers can then test their apps to support the upcoming BlackBerry Q10 smartphone, also an amazing BlackBerry 10 device with the BlackBerry signature qwerty keyboard! Imagine your app running on a beautiful hardware on a full touch screen + touch & qwerty smartphone to millions of happy Z10 and future Q10 owners! Imagine the possibilities!

So don’t miss the opportunity to change the world with BlackBerry! Get your hacker hats on and start making apps for BlackBerry 10! There’s a lot of reason why you should make apps for this platform and i believe you can discover it personally, and if you have found a reason to believe in BlackBerry 10. Share it here.

Last year was awesome! Lots of hackathons, series of app development craze and more! But this year, we wanted YOU to continue the apps you made from the last year and port it to BlackBerry 10!

If you heard about the series of BlackBerry 10 Port-a-thon events held worldwide, we are proud to announce that we are hosting a local meet-up to assist you during your porting (provide BlackBerry Dev Alpha devices, technical assistance, internet connection and some snacks/refreshments) and to collaborate with other developers in the community!

Relax! You don’t need to pitch this time! But if you want, you can show your ported app to the crowd! The floor is yours!

On January 12 2013 at Globe Valero, Makati City. We are inviting ALL Android, Web Developers, Mobile Developers and other developers to port their existing apps to BlackBerry 10! Only applications that hasn’t been submitted to the BlackBerry World are eligible to join in this event. 

More info about the event:

Porting Android apps to BlackBerry 10

Since more apps mean more rewards, you should take advantage of the tips below and get ready before you join the event.

Here’s what you need to get prepared ahead of time.

1. Register as a Vendor at BlackBerry World if you haven’t already.
2. Request signature keys. Make sure that you select for BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS and BlackBerry 10 and higher. Downloading in advance is strongly recommended as the time involved to do so could prevent you from earning rewards.
3. Load up your laptop BlackBerry tools and plug-ins. Make sure you have your full source code file readily available too.
4. Make sure you have your images and icons ready to go.

We also have porting guides and tools you can use to get a head start.

Guides:

BlackBerry Runtime for Android apps Overview

Port your Android app from BlackBerry PlayBook OS to BlackBerry 10 OS

Tools:

ADT Plug-in Repackaging Tool

BlackBerry Packager for Android Apps

Get Rewarded

The more you port and build the greater your rewards*:

• Port one or more approved apps –and get $100 per eligible app to a maximum of 20 paid applications per Vendor
• Additionally; submit five (5) or more apps and be eligible for a random draw for one (1) of one hundred (100) BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha Devices. Receive one (1) additional entry for every eligible app that you submit over 5.

* A total of $500,000USD is available for distribution. Eligible vendors who submit a minimum of five (5) eligible apps will be entered into a random draw for a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha Device. One hundred (100) Devices are available to be won. There is a limit of one (1) BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device per Vendor. To qualify for a Reward, you must register on the website athttp://developer.blackberry.com/offers/androidportathon and submit your App into the BlackBerry World Vendor Portal between 12:00:01 pm on January 11, 2013 and 11:59:59pm ET on January 12, 2013. Any apps submitted outside this time frame are not eligible for this Reward program. Only those apps that have been approved through BlackBerry World and RIM will be considered towards a Reward. No purchase necessary to be eligible for the draw.  The odds of winning the draw depend on the number of eligible Vendors entered.  Skill-testing question applies to Canadian residents.  Cash rewards limited to 20 per Vendor.  See the Official Terms and Conditions for complete details

Porting Web Apps(developed using Appcelerator, Maramalade, Sencha, jQuery, PhoneGap, Qt or other platforms) to BlackBerry 10

Since more apps mean more rewards, you should take advantage of the tips below and get ready before you join the event.

Here’s what you need to get prepared ahead of time.

1. Register as a Vendor at BlackBerry World if you haven’t already.
2. Request signature keys. Make sure that you select for BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS and BlackBerry 10 and higher. Downloading in advance is strongly recommended as the time involved to do so could prevent you from earning rewards.
3. Load up your laptop BlackBerry tools and plug-ins. Make sure you have your full source code file readily available too.
4. Make sure you have your images and icons ready to go.

Submit your apps into BlackBerry World before BlackBerry 10 launches. Register for the Community Port-A-Thon for BlackBerry 10 today!

Have Questions? See our FAQ.

Get Rewarded

The more you port and build the greater your rewards*:

• Port  one (1) – five (5) approved apps – $100 per eligible app –to  a maximum of 20 paid applications per Vendor
• Port five (5) – ten (10) approved apps – THE FIRST TWO HUNDRED (200) QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS receive one (1) BlackBerry Dev Alpha Device plus $100
• Port ten (10) or more approved apps -  THE FIRST TEN (10) QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS one (1) paid trip to BlackBerry Jam Europe to celebrate  the launch of BlackBerry 10 with us plus a Dev Alpha Device as well as $100!!!
• Additionally for those that did not receive a BlackBerry Dev Alpha, or Trip to BlackBerry Jam Europe, we will be conducting a random draw for one hundred (100) BlackBerry 10 Dev Alphas and ten (10) trips to BlackBerry Jam Europe.  All those who meet the criteria for a Dev Alpha  Device or the Trip but were not one of the firs 200 or 10 , respectively, to qualify, are eligible for the respective draws.

* A total of $500,000USD is available for distribution. To qualify for a Reward, you must register on the website at http://developer.blackberry.com/offers/communityportathon and submit your App into the BlackBerry World Vendor Portal between 12:00:01 pm on January 11, 2013 and 11:59:59pm ET on January 12, 2013. Any apps submitted outside this time frame are not eligible for this Reward program. Only those apps that have been approved through BlackBerry World and RIM will be considered towards a Reward. No purchase necessary to be eligible for the draw.  The odds of winning the draw depend on the number of eligible Vendors entered.  Skill-testing question applies to Canadian residents.  Limit one (1) Dev Alpha Device and one (1) Trip per person. Cash rewards limited to 20 per Vendor regardless of reward category.    See the Official Terms and Conditions for complete details.

Registration here! So get your tools ready and port your apps to BlackBerry 10! We can’t wait to see your apps rocking the BlackBerry 10 platform! See you!

*Please take note that it is not necessary to register for this meet-up to join the BlackBerry Port-a-Thon Program! You can just register in the Port-A-Thon(Registration URL provided above) and do it at home.

This meet-up is only for gathering developers in one venue and possibly assist them especially during testing and to provide a venue for them to collaborate.

*We would like to thank Research in Motion and Globelabs for making this meet-up possible!

Mobidex is inviting all Qt Developers around the world to take part in this “Qt for BB10” initiative wherein you can submit your Qt Apps to BlackBerry World(formerly known as BlackBerry AppWorld) by January 2013. This gives you a head start from other developers in making your application available to the next generation of mobile computing, the BlackBerry 10!

Aside from that, Mobidex also offers the following incentives:

1. Submit a Blackberry 10 porting plan and you could receive a Blackberry 10 Dev Alpha device. For complete details join the program now, see the official program Terms & conditions.

2. The 10k Developer Commitment – If your app earns at least $1000 revenue but less than US$10,000, RIM will pay the developer the difference between the revenue earned and US$10,000.

3. Free Playbook will be awarded on successful publishing. Only apps in final “MobiDex360 list” will be entitled to free playbook.

4. If the Qt community ports 50 eligible Qt apps to BlackBerry 10 and they are available for sale on BlackBerry App World by January 30, 2012, RIM will donate $10,000 USD to the Qt Project Hosting Foundation.

Check-out: http://www.mobidex360.com/BlackBerryQt/home.aspx

Watch out peeps for the registration site of PinoyBBDev’s first christmas party (limited seats only) which will be announced via our Facebook page or Twitter!

Enjoy the fun and frolics of a Jam party on December 10, 2012, from 6:00 – 10:00 pm, in Globe Corporate Showroom, Valero St., Makati City – the only place to release your inner “Rockstar” this Christmas! Indulge in your creativity and show-up in your Rockstar look & ‘do!

See you!!!

De LaSalle Univeristy under the College of Computer Studies and Net-Centric Computing Laboratory and Technology Hub for Innovation and Incubation has a new challenge for their students!….. Can you build your awesome app idea in 24-hours?

This challenge is open to DLSU students and DLSU 2012 Undergraduate graduates where they will form a team with at least one (1) member and at most four(4). Participants will be given 24-hours to develop their ideas as either web application, mobile application or both. A theme will be provided today so participants can think about it prior to the main event. After 24-hours each team will be given the chance to present their application to a panel of judges where they will choose the top-3 winners. Aside from getting the exclusive HackerCup trophy, 3rd Place winner gets a Nokia Lumia 800 plus Four(4) Globe Tattoo Sonic; 2nd Place winner gets a Nokia Lumia 800 plus  Four(4) Globe Tattoo 4G Flash and the 1st Place winner gets a Four(4) 16GB BlackBerry Playbook plus Four(4) Globe Tattoo 4G Flash. For non-winning teams but was able to submit and presented their apps…. cheer-up! coz you still get away with a cool finisher’s shirt!

For those participants who’ll be developing for the BlackBerry Platform, we are open for consultation (about your app idea, APIs, Development options, etc)! Just tweet your questions at @pinoybbdev / @johnbiibs / @peteangelo / @aaroncajes. And during the event, PinoyBBDev representatives will be there to assist you as well.

Now step up to the challenge! Good luck!

For more info: http://www.dlsuhackercup.tk/

(Not the actual error, but the new BSOD is gorgeous! …. For an error. )

It’s almost one month since the new Windows has been launched: Windows 8. It’s a new released platform so it’s not that shocking when a lot of things break. But if you’re a BlackBerry Developer, this issue might arise when you switch from Windows 7 to 8 and that one problem is: The signing process.

I’ve been signing both my upcoming app for BB5-7 and BB10 and the console cheerfully generates: Success! (and makes signed copies of the app) But in reality… It’s a trap.

It looks like it has been signed but it’s the other way around. It’s “really” not signed. So when you upload the so called “signed COD” file, app world will accept it.  (But later on, you will receive an e-mail from AppWorld stating that your app is not accepted and you have to fix it by signing it) BUT if you try to upload the so called “Signed BAR” file for BB10, app world will generate an error message saying: “It’s not signed!” and you’ll end up being confused.

I’ve done a LOT of things on how to solve this issue and i ended up using Windows 7 on a Virtual Machine. And heck, yeah! It worked!

So kids, if you WANT Windows 8 so bad and currently engage on a BlackBerry Development project, VM is the way to go. (Or go buy a new one. You choose )

Are you attending a BlackBerry Development event(s)? Awesome! I made a series of technical guides on how to install and set-up these tools that will be needed on the said event(s).

These tools will focus on the basics: Download, Install, Configure. So you have to read it from top-bottom

Preparing for a BlackBerry Workshop: Installing BlackBerry Tools!

Preparing for a BlackBerry Workshop: Installing Cascades

Hope this guide will help you on your way to BlackBerry Development Awesomeness! Goodluck!

28(around 130 Developers) teams were put to the test in a grueling 40-hrs non-stop hackathon as part of the BlackBerry Jam Hack APAC Edition last Oct 12-14, 2012. Manila, Philippines is part of the 10-Cities that hosted the simultaneous hackathon together with Delhi, Bangalore, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur as Group 1. Ho Chi Min, Shanghai, Bangkok, Melbourne and Jakarta were under  Group 2 which was held last Oct 19-21.

BlackBerry Jam Hack 2012 - Manila Participants!

Participants created their BlackBerry 10 apps and were given the option to use the four platforms namely WebWorks(HTML5), Native SDK(C++), Cascades, and Adobe Air.

Though the registration opens at 7pm, an overwhelming number of participants started to arrive as early as 6:30pm. Initially, the venue was set to accommodate 100 participants but as people kept on arriving, it was then decided to add 30 more chairs. All in All, a total of 130 participants + 20 volunteers attended the event.

Dinner was served at 8pm to fulfill the hungry stomachs of the participants especially those who came directly from their office or from the provinces. Most of the participants were done eating at 9pm which was just in time for the Country Vibes led by c/o David Patterson, Head of Alliance Operations APAC of Research in Motion. David explained the Philippine market trends which is significantly important for developers so they’ll know what to focus on in mobile development. Then followed by Alan Wong, Application Development Consultant of Research in Motion showing off the cool design & user experience of  BlackBerry 10.

Afterwards, Rafael Oca and I briefly explained the mechanics of the hackathon (which we assumed the participants read before they registered for the event) and the prizes that await them after 40 hrs. This announcement excites the participants big time. After a couple of more announcements, the hackathon begins!

There were some trivia questions and quick and fun games while hackathon was ongoing to keep the participants alive and still kicking! Some of them took away BBM t-shirts while the others got BBM Splat stickers and Mozilla items (Thanks to our friend Mozilla PH Rep Robert “Bob” Reyes for the awesome swags!). And to relax their tired mind and body after 20hours of hacking, free massage was provided through our on-site SPA!

There were some JAM Bytes from RIM SME(c/o Alan) as well as such “Invocation and Sharing”, “Unififed Inbox and Notifications”, “Going viral with BBM”, “Payments” and the “Built for BlackBerry Program”.

And the best part was the free flowing supply of drinks (coffee/ice tea/iced coffee/coke/energy drink/beer) and food (chips/gummy bears/pizza hut/peanuts/biscuits) which is on top of the packed breakfast and catered meals for lunch and dinner.

And the winners took home the following prizes…..

BlackBerry Jam Hack 2012 Prizes

After 36 hrs, each participant had the chance to pitch their application for 3 minutes including an app demo to show case what their apps can do. Afterwhich the 4 judges namely William Yu who is the (VP for Operations of Novare Technology), Christian Besler, (VP and Community Engagement Head at Kickstart ventures), Cameron Vernest (who is RIM’s Country Director for Philippines), and David Patterson (who is the Head of Alliance Operations in APAC for RIM)  started to ask questions and evaluate each and every apps. More than 28 conceptual apps were presented and assessed by these judges.

The Judges! (From Left, Cameron Vernest, William Yu, Christian Besler and David Patterson

After 30 mins of careful deliberation, the winners were announced by David. Here’s the summary:

People’s Choice Award – “iTB Dots” of Team Engineer(Marlon Franco Tubuleza, Mayer Sanchez, BabyLea Divino and Amado Guerrero Cacdac)

Mentor’s Award – “Bug Mania” of Team GLT (Lesley Abe, Gilbert Lavides, Vincer Quibral and Angela Cristina Barnes)

Best Pitch Award – “Shenanigan” of Team Ripple Wave (Sharan Balani and Arnaldo Tayao Jr)

Best Student Application Award – “Under Water Invasion” of Team Logeeks (Richard Anthony Rivera, Arrod Gerald Yabut, Alvin Pizcasio and Alvin Marra Paneza)

2nd Runner App – “Philstocks XAVI” of Team Accord Capital (Christopher Peter Domingo, Mark Joya, Garry Quilala and Dexter Rodulfo)

1st Runner App – “Mobioke World” of Team Pokemon (Paul Ameer Jayme, Marc Anthony Reyman, Arnie Armada and Armilyn Martinez)

Winner – “Realm of Esylum” of Team Rain Creative (John Paul de Guzman, Joshua Falco, Mark Florendo and Rafael Alberto Tuano)

 Congratulations to the winners and to the participants!

And of course, this event will not be possible without the support of the following:

BlackBerry for the over-all support! From helping us plan the event, providing us financial support and for sending these amazing guys to Manila! Thank you very much! Another reason for us to #BB10Believe! Special thanks to BlackBerry Pilipinas too!

RIM Dev Rel APAC Representatives Alan Wong and Sa Sha

David Patterson, Head of Alliance Operations in APAC for RIM

DevConPH who helped us from pre-hackathon up to the running the main event! Thank you very much Marica Uchida and Haifa Carina! Special thanks to the volunteers Bryan Bibat, Alvin Chan, Terrence Ponce, Arvin Orubia, Alfonso Juan Dillera and Raymond Paul Bonoan.

To our Gold Sponsors:

Thank you very much Miss Michelle Santos for your all-out support for PinoyBBDev, for the fast dedictated internet connection in the venue and for the GlobeLabs bean bags!

Thank you very much Miss Camsy Ocumen for providing the Freelancer account for the winners and for the energy drinks!

Thank you very much Mr Franco Eisma for providing the AWS accounts for the winners!

To our Silver Sponsor:

Thank you very much Miss Ruby Santos for accommodating us in Alphaland!

To Other Sponsors:

Thank you very much for the biscuits and cup cakes!!!!

Thank you very much Celebrity Nails for the wonderful Spa and Massage service!

To our Community/Media Partners:

Thank you very much John Arce for supporting our event! Check out their article about the BlackBerry Jam Hack 2012 Manila here.

Thank you very much Joe Jerde for the support! Check out their article here.

Thank you Ross Flores Del Rosario of When In Manila for covering our event too! Check their blog here.

To our volunteer host Carmela del Rosario, who helped us finalize the program/games… Thank you very much!

To the mentors who took time to coach the participants, Jonathan Lansangan, Christopher Mendoza, Christopher Cometa and Edward Samson.

To all the volunteers including Teteth Luzon, Pau Pastor, Goldine Ferrer, Jojo Besa, Earl Ferrer and Sherwin Evangelista!

To our runners Angelou and Reynan, Thank you!

And of course to the PinoyBBDev Core Team: Naricar Tabisora, Lesley Anne Haro and Rafael Oca a very Big Thank You!!!!

On behalf of PinoyBBDev, Pete and I would like to thank everyone for making this possible! Congratulations to the participants for the great ideas and apps! Congratulations to the volunteers, mentors and organizers for a job well done!

Next stop? BlackBerry Jam Asia in Bangkok, Thailand!!!! Good luck Team Rain Creative! Show them what Filipinos got!!!

Cheers!

John

*Thanks DevConPh for  photos.

Windows 8 has been launched a few days ago, and there has been a record of 4 million downloads for the first 4 days. Wow! I assume a lot of BlackBerry developers has already upgraded to this latest operating system, and may even have started from scratch. The problem is, when you run any BlackBerry installer on Windows 8, even though you have already added java’s path to the system environment. You will receive an exception:

“Invocation of this Java Application has caused an InvocationTargetException.”

 Don’t panic! It’s just Windows 8.

All you have to do is to right click the (.exe) file > go to properties > compatibility >Tick “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” and select Windows 7.

Ta-da! You’re ready to jam!