Since we’ve reached the maximum number of apps for the program, we’ve decided to cancel the remaining online help hours. We definitely encourage you to keep submitting apps – and if you need help, our team is always available on Twitter – @BlackBerryDev.

It’s March. The smell of Korean tacos and PBR is in the air and that can only mean one thing – it’s time for SXSW 2013. BlackBerry is excited to be back in Austin and you’re invited to stop by The BlackBerry House and see how BlackBerry 10 can keep you moving.

Blog Bounty
Have a RSS feed, Tumblog, WordPress blog, Blogger blog, YouTube channel, Facebook page, or Flickr gallery? If so – then you can create an amazing BlackBerry 10 app in 10 minutes. Need more incentive? The Blog Bounty is starting at SXSW on Friday, March 8^th and you can earn $100.00 US per app* built with our BlackBerry App Generator! We’ll have staff on site to help you get your app built, submitted, and made available in BlackBerry World.

Want to participate, but not planning on being in Austin? No problem – we’ll have virtual office hours on Sunday March 10th, Tuesday March 12th, Thursday March 14th, Saturday March 16th, and Sunday March 17th from 10-2 ET to help you out. Remember – the content you use in the app has to be content you have rights to distribute. As much as you’d love to make a celebrity app, you can’t unless you have their permission to build it.

*Each eligible Vendor will receive $100US for each eligible BlackBerry 10 app they submit, up to a maximum of $2,000 per Vendor.  A total of $500,000US (5,000 Rewards of $100 each) is available for distribution.  Additional Terms and Conditions apply – please see our site for details

The BlackBerry House is located at 78 Rainey Street – be sure to head over to The BlackBerry House site to RSVP today!

Last call for porting apps - Register now for the Last Chance Port-A-Thon!

When we decided to hold a series of Port-A-Thons to help our developer community port their apps over to BlackBerry 10 we had no idea how wildly successful they would be. This past weekend’s Port-A-Thons brought in more than 15,000 apps! It has been truly inspiring to see so much excitement and support for BlackBerry 10. So we’re going to do it one more time. All new BlackBerry 10 apps built using any type of development approach or the BlackBerry App Generator are eligible!

One more chance to get rewarded

The Last Chance Port-A-Thon will start at noon ET on January 18, 2013 and run for 36 hours straight. As with past Port-A-Thons, this will be a virtual event, which means you can log in from wherever you want to and our experts will be available to help you port your apps. The more apps you port, the greater your rewards*:

• Port one or more approved apps and you’ll receive $100 per eligible app, to a maximum of 20 paid applications per Vendor
• Additionally, submit five (5) or more apps and be entered into a random draw for one (1) of two hundred and fifty (250) BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha devices. You’ll receive one (1) entry for the first five (5) approved apps and an additional entry for each approved app after that.

Get prepared ahead of time

Getting a few things prepared ahead of time means that you can get porting as soon as the event starts.

• Register as a Vendor at BlackBerry World if you haven’t already.
• 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.
• Load up your laptop BlackBerry tools and plug-ins. Make sure you have your full source code file readily available too.
  • Make sure you have your images and icons ready to go.
  • Last but not least, don’t forget to register for the event.

This is the final Port-A-Thon before BlackBerry 10 launches on January 30, 2013. Hope you can join us.

* A total of $500,000 USD is available for distribution. To qualify for a Reward, you must register on the website at  http://developer.blackberry.com/offers/lastchanceportathon and submit your App into the BlackBerry World Vendor Portal between 12:00:01 pm on January 18, 2013 and 11:59:59pm ET on January 19, 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) Limited Edition BlackBerry 10 Device per person. Cash rewards limited to 20 per Vendor regardless of reward category.  See the Official Terms and Conditions for complete details.

The BlackBerry 10 Community Port-A-Thon will start on noon ET January 11, 2013 and run for 36 hours.  This is also going to be a virtual event, so it is up to you to decide where you would like to join us from.

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.

Get Ready to Port

Take advantage of the tips below to get a head start 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.

Register

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.

* 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.

The Android Port-A-Thon for BlackBerry 10 will start at noon ET on January 11, 2013 and run for 36 hours.  It is a virtual event, so you will be able to log in from the comfort of your home, your desk at work or even set up a porting party with your friends. As with the first events, the more apps you port the greater the reward for you.

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.

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

Join us

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

Have questions? See our FAQ.

* 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 at http://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

As a thank-you to the BlackBerry® 10 Dev Alpha community, we are offering you the opportunity to trade in your BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha testing device for a new Limited Edition BlackBerry 10 smartphone!

In order to be eligible for a Limited Edition device, you must qualify under the terms and conditions, and you must also have received a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha testing device.

1. Submit a qualifying BlackBerry 10 app
2. We will send you a note indicating you qualify and instructions on how trade in your BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha
3. Complete step 2; a follow-up email will be sent after the BlackBerry 10 launch event on January 30th, 2013

Your BlackBerry 10 application(s) need to be created and submitted to BlackBerry World by January 21, 2013. The application will go through testing and will be deemed either qualified or not qualified based on the terms and conditions.

Want to know more? Check out developer.blackberry.com/limitededition

As you know, there are BlackBerry 10 smartphones coming in Q1 2013 – an all-touch model similar to the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha, and a BlackBerry 10 smartphone with our industry-defining BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard.
Today we announced the next phase of the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha program – the BlackBerry Dev Alpha C. It is a testing device for developers so that you can adjust, debug, and test your BlackBerry 10 applications to get ready for the launch of the BlackBerry 10 QWERTY device next year.

We’re only producing a limited number of these testing devices, and they will be reserved on a priority list for developers who have demonstrated that they are building apps for BlackBerry 10.

Distribution will be limited to developers who submit two or more applications; these developers will be given priority seeding for the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha C. These developers will be determined on the following point system:

• 50 points for ported Android™ applications
• 250 points for all other applications (Native, BlackBerry® WebWorks™, Adobe® AIR®)
• 1500 points for Built For BlackBerry certified application
• BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha A/B recipients start with 200 points
• BlackBerry Elite Members start with 200 points

The BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha C offer will run from December 1, 2012 through February 5, 2013. The details on the program can be found here, and keep following @BlackBerryDev for more info.

Here’s our ten favorite #BB10Believe tweets from the past week:

OMG – BB10 invocation is FAST! Not only is the application switch like lightening – but the web page loads speedily too! #GoQNX #BB10believe—
Liz Myers (@LizMyers) November 11, 2012

Rooting for the home team. #BB10Believe—
Chris Atkinson (@c__atkinson) November 09, 2012

BlackBerry apps are integrated perfectly,Tasks,dates,memos &projects are shared with BBMGroups & Twitter account #BB10Believe. @BlackBerry—
Eng. Ever Reyes  (@everreyes) November 12, 2012

@BlackBerryDev #BB10Believe because the BETA device is the FASTEST piece of mobile hardware I've worked with, and this is just a preview.—
Mark Dineen (@DineenMa) November 13, 2012

Another reason to #BB10believe, I got a call from #RIM today asking how my development was going. Real people, not machines.—
Mikel Calderon (@mikelcal) November 10, 2012

Let's unite in Jan 30th, 2013. One touch One finger, let's swipe all the way Peek for newest info, and let it flow #gobb10 #bb10believe—
Romadhoni Yosa (@Yosa7998) November 12, 2012

The revolutionary BlackBerry 10 is becoming very real! January 30 launch date. Don't stop believing #BB10BELIEVE—
NickyHope™ (@NickyHope96) November 12, 2012

#BB10Believe Brand new Os! Can't wait for BlackBerry Flow, Active Frames, BlackBerry Hub! Bring on the heat!—
Andrew Pranoto 17 (@AndrewPranoto) November 13, 2012

Building BB10 Cascades Beta 3 Samples and running on my Dev Alpha developer.blackberry.com/cascades/sampl… – some superb examples give reason to #BB10Believe—
Angus Fox (@nuxnix) November 14, 2012

The Flow is coming. The tide is about to change. #BlackBerry10 #BB10Believe #BB10—
Greg Wesson (@lombaki) November 13, 2012

We’ve been overwhelmed with all of the amazing “Reasons to Believe” in BlackBerry® 10 that we saw on Twitter® this past week. We are well on our way to 10,000 reasons but still need your continued support to achieve this goal! If you haven’t already shared yours, or if you have a second or third reason to believe, please submit it either through our online portal or through Twitter using the hashtag #BB10Believe. And remember, your tweet could be featured in next week’s blog post!

Here are our ten favorites from the past week:

Broken Record, BB10 IS AWESOME!!!! Every tidbit I'm fed just perpetuates my excitement…I may start bleeding from my ears…#BB10Believe—
Chaz Ermini (@ChazBerryJam) November 02, 2012

Just watching some more #blackberryjam video on #BB10 this thing looks sweet! #cantwait #BB10BELIEVE #rim—
Denys Phaneuf (@theGHkidd) November 03, 2012

@BlackBerryDev I'm looking forward to native development using Qt/C++ – these are powerful tools! #BB10Believe—
  (@yalnte) November 05, 2012

Just saw the latest video update on #blackberry upcoming Blackberry 10 phone and I'm sure it will be a big win for RIM. #BB10believe—
Ian Tolentino (@thebil22) November 07, 2012

Blackberry 10 OS looks awesome. It is certainly worth the wait. Can't wait to get one for myself. #BB10Believe—
YJ (@yashrajjadhav) November 07, 2012

@blackberry #10 is almost here I can almost feel it in my hands already!! #anticipation #hurry #bookingthedayoffworktoget #BB10Believe—
Jamie Page (@Jamiepage1000) November 08, 2012

@blackberry the swipe down on keyboard to get to the symbols keys on #OS10 is pure friggin genius! #keepitup #BB10believe—
AllAboutMyBlackBerry (@AllAboutMyBB) November 09, 2012

$RIM #BB10 is CBA : Certified BEFORE Arrival #BB10Believe #TeamBlackberry—
Antoine Bapst (@superfly_FR) November 08, 2012

@BlackBerryDev secure Enterprise support for a stylish and function work experience #BlackBerry10 #BB10Believe—
Eric Wilborn (@ericwilborn) November 05, 2012

Waiting for #BB10 has been hard, but I can and will do it #BB10Believe.—
Age for short (@Ages3Cents) November 07, 2012

Share your idea today!

Every day, users submit their reasons to believe either through our online portal or through Twitter® using the hashtag #BB10Believe. Even a Twibbon campaign has started in support of this effort!

We want to take some time every week to highlight some of our favorite Tweets from the past week. Take a look and if you haven’t tweeted your reason yet, do so today and use #BB10Believe. You might see it featured on the blog!

@BlackBerryDev Cascades helps producing an astonishing app within 1 or 2 days. That's why I #bb10believe—
Louis Tang (@Louis_Keeper) October 30, 2012

Can't wait for the stunning 356ppi screen on the new BlackBerry #BB10believe #cantwaitforBB10—
Jesse Alves (@Element014) October 26, 2012

So excited for the new @BlackBerry 10, my phone contract is definitely going to have to wait until I upgrade #BB10 #BB10Believe #BBSupporter—
Adam Cockinator ὺ.ύ (@AdamCockley) November 02, 2012

#My1stBlackBerry was a 8220, my next will be a #BB10, #TheWaitingIsTheHardestPart #BB10Believe—
Sergio Araki (@arakisergio) November 01, 2012

Its exciting to see how many different languages are excited for #BB10! #BB10Believe look it up!—
Mikel Calderon (@mikelcal) November 01, 2012

#BB10Believe The world will be a better place after BB10 is released—
J. S. Williamson (@PhillyJSWill) October 29, 2012

@BlackBerry Blackberry 10 OS looks awesome. It is certainly worth the wait. Can't wait to get one for myself. #BB10Believe—
Vinay Nambiar (@nambiar_vinay) October 28, 2012

@BlackBerry I will always be #BlackBerryByChoice and be #ProudToBeTeamBlackBerry. I truly #BB10Believe. Bring on #BB10—
HierCraze!!! (@HierCraze) October 28, 2012

#BB10Believe patiently waiting. Still high hopes with RIM. Let's go!—
Carl D' Malik (@CarlDMalik) October 28, 2012

Dear @BlackBerry – I love my Bold 9900 & BlackBerry PlayBook LTE! I can't wait to add BlackBerry10 to add to my repertoire #BB10Believe—
  (@MartinJDub) October 30, 2012